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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really apologetic. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with collaborator the talented actress—will already know that she possesses plenty to say, whether on gender, sex, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching the new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional thoughts on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, the show depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided 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 explains. The concept for the series originated—in part—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that included her learn some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in New England, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts about her previously will certainly be kicking themselves today. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could easy to create a program about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. The series avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“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