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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. She is only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. And, after watching the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights regarding the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she is a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which tracks the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved 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 notes. The concept for the series emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her learn some big truths, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical about Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). One might simple to produce a program about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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