Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Those who have seen her boldly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott holds much to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her new seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on concept went to the HBO series, that program about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from firsthand, originally rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her grasp some big truths, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be simple to produce a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
