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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, whether about identity, sex, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. Plus, after watching the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was a time that saw her learn major insights, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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…”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) weird skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to produce a series about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

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