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Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—which she penned with the director and appeared in alongside close companion the talented actress—would understand that she has a lot to say, be it about roles, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end the latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras skilled for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also new representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, at first difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her understand major life lessons, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Growing up in Connecticut, the star started creating and acting humor while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned 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 benefits of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could tempting to produce a program about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent millennial life that’s frank about the mess and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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