🔗 Share this article Rachel Sennott on the side-splitting series about that chaotic glamour of younger generation existence The performer enters the digital interview and right away begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only slightly behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in alongside her friend the talented actress—would understand that she holds a lot to discuss, whether on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. Plus, after watching the latest eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional perspectives about the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z). Influences and Storytelling Approach The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and new agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on concept went to Entourage, the show about an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version 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 idea for the series emerged—partly—from personal, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her grasp major insights, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…” Starting Out Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced creating and acting humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.” Sennott seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to having babies; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.” Career Breakthrough Individuals who questioned about Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it now. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers managing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be simple to create a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal. Nuanced Portrayal “Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she comments. “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