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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds plenty to share, be it about roles, sex, or the pros of starting a teen fight club. And, after watching her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, at first rocky, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her understand major truths, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Raised in New England, Sennott started writing and performing humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it now. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to produce a program about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“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