Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she has much to discuss, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish the new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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 the series came—partly—from firsthand, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her grasp major truths, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, the star started writing and performing stand-up while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
