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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly late, 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, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott holds much to say, be it about gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a high-school fight club. Furthermore, after watching the new multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further thoughts about the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show depicting a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that included her grasp some big insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “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. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will certainly be regretting it now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

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