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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—will understand that she has a lot to say, whether on gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish the new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further perspectives on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is a fan, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that show about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for this project came—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her grasp some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting humor while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who questioned about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be tempting to create a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a depiction of advantaged young adult existence that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.

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 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