The comedic talent exploring the uproarious show depicting that messy glamour of today's youth existence

Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants 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!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she has plenty to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. And, by the end her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further insights about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge for this generation, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also new talent manager Maia. However, the largest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to LA and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her understand significant truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in New England, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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.”

She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she has created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded content titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the mess 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 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

Eric Garcia
Eric Garcia

A passionate writer and explorer documenting the unique aspects of northern Canadian life and culture.