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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who have seen her boldly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott has much to say, whether about roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. And, once you finish the new seasonal program I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional perspectives regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version 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 the series emerged—in part—from her own, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her learn some big insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts about her then will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video titled on LA life online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to produce a program about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

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