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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit delayed, 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!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in with her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses plenty to share, whether on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching her new multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries additional perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided 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 I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that saw her grasp significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Brought up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing humor while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts about Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to create a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of affluent young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.

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