🔗 Share this article Rachel Sennott on the side-splitting show about the grotty glamour of Gen Z life The performer appears on the digital interview and right away starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend the talented actress—would understand that she has a lot to discuss, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional insights on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z). Influences and Storytelling Approach Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”. “I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for the series came—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular event for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her understand significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …” Early Beginnings Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.” Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.” Manifesting Dreams Individuals who questioned about Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to create a program about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the mess and the shine. Nuanced Portrayal “Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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