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Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, whether about gender, relationships, or the appeal of starting a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end her latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more insights on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the show focusing on an emerging Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided 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 says. The concept for the series came—in part—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular event for followers. This represented a time that included her understand some big life lessons, work-wise and individually. “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.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it currently. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

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