The actress and writer discussing her uproarious series depicting the chaotic appeal of today's youth lifestyle

Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—will be aware that she has plenty to say, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a teen brawl society. Plus, by the end the latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has additional thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager Maia. However, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that show about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from firsthand, originally fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a time that involved her grasp major truths, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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 seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it now. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to create a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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

Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt

Lena ist eine leidenschaftliche Kulturjournalistin mit über zehn Jahren Erfahrung in der Berichterstattung über Schweizer Kunst und Events.