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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding really regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who know her boldly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and featured in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she holds a lot to discuss, be it on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, by the end her recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, originally rocky, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant truths, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing theatre 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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to achieved an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a video named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). One might easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.

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