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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott has a lot to discuss, be it on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end the latest multi-episode show I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more perspectives on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the program about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from her own, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big insights, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) weird skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Individuals who had doubts about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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