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Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and appeared in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she possesses much to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching the recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds further perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, originally rocky, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her learn major insights, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and very) weird online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, creating a representation of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant