🔗 Share this article Rachel Sennott discussing her side-splitting show portraying the grotty appeal of today's youth lifestyle The star enters the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically queer and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she possesses plenty to say, be it on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen fight club. Plus, after watching the new eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has additional insights about the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is a bridge of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups). Influences and Storytelling Approach The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is an admirer, referencing it together with the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Sennott’s character. However, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”. “My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her understand some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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 Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.” Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content online. One, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.” Rising Success Individuals who questioned about Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded content called on LA life online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to create a series about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, creating a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid 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 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