Rachel Sennott on the uproarious series depicting that chaotic appeal of Gen Z lifestyle
Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding really remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—will understand that she holds plenty to discuss, be it on gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further perspectives on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Maia. However, the largest spot on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—partly—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that saw her understand major life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded content named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
