Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who know the boldly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott has plenty to share, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. And, by the end the new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds further perspectives regarding the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally and fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision went to Entourage, that show about an emerging celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for this project emerged—partly—from personal, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. This represented a time that saw her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. 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.”
Sennott seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to make a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
