Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott has much to discuss, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, after watching her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more insights on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant influence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, 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 idea for this project originated—to some extent—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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 the East Coast, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to make a program about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. The series steers clear of each, creating a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
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
