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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who know her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds a lot to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching the latest seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that she has further thoughts on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the show focusing on a rising A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided 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 this project originated—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. It was an era that included her understand some big truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely drawn to motherhood; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to create a series about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

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