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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and featured in with collaborator the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses much to say, be it on identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. And, by the end the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further insights about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that program focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”

Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to produce a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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