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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott holds much to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional insights about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Creative Vision

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, that program focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose 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 explains. The concept for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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?”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Those who questioned about her previously will surely be feeling foolish today. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be simple to make a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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