Rachel Sennott on her hilarious series depicting the grotty glamour of Gen Z lifestyle

The performer joins the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—would already know that she has much to say, be it about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, after watching the latest eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling both generations).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, Sennott started creating and acting stand-up while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be regretting it now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “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

Karen Mitchell
Karen Mitchell

Elara Vance is a seasoned IT consultant with over a decade of experience in cloud computing and cybersecurity, dedicated to helping businesses optimize their digital infrastructure.