Rachel Sennott discussing the hilarious show about that chaotic glamour of today's youth existence

The performer appears on the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she possesses plenty to share, be it about gender, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the latest multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that she has further insights about the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and new representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her understand major truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “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 commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned regarding her then will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a clip named on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be easy to create a show about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.

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 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

Denise Randolph
Denise Randolph

Aria is a wellness enthusiast and fidget spinner expert, dedicated to helping others find calm and focus through innovative tools.