The actress and writer on her hilarious comedy about that chaotic allure of younger generation existence

Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in with her friend the talented actress—would understand that she holds much to say, ranging from on identity, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school combat group. And, after watching the new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further insights regarding the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also new talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for the series came—in part—from personal, at first rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her learn major insights, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”

Humble Origins

Raised in Connecticut, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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 seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Anyone who questioned about Sennott then will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might simple to make a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.

Balanced Perspective

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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