Rachel Sennott discussing the hilarious comedy portraying the messy allure of Gen Z life

The performer joins the video call and right away begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott possesses much to say, be it on identity, sex, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. And, by the end her new eight-part program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, she is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction

Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent Sennott’s character. However, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that show about an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. It was a phase that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “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?”

She decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who were skeptical about Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to make a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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