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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing truly remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who know the boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in alongside her friend the talented actress—can understand that she holds much to discuss, be it on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for connecting different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program about a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her grasp some big truths, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in New England, the star commenced writing and performing humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a show about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the mess and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“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