The comedic talent exploring her side-splitting series depicting that chaotic allure of Gen Z life

Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she holds a lot to discuss, ranging from about gender, sex, or the merits of creating a youth combat group. And, by the end her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further insights about the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which details the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest spot on concept was reserved for the HBO series, the show about an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved 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 idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for followers. It was a phase that involved her learn major truths, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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

Raised in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed several females intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might simple to produce a program about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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

Thomas Murphy
Thomas Murphy

Elara Fischer is a Swiss-based cultural journalist with over a decade of experience covering arts and heritage across Europe.