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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who know her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend the talented actress—will understand that Sennott possesses plenty to say, be it about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her understand some big truths, in her career and individually. “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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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 took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be simple to create a series about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial living that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.

Balanced Perspective

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