Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she wants 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!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott holds much to share, be it about gender, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. And, after watching her recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more insights about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, she represents a bridge for this generation, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 this project originated—partly—from personal, initially rocky, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for followers. It was a time that saw her grasp significant truths, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned about Sennott then will likely be regretting it today. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be tempting to make a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
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 says. “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
