Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—can understand that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it on gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish her new seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more perspectives on the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from her own, originally fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her grasp significant truths, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “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 Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely obsessed with having babies; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip called on LA life online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to create a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of privileged millennial life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
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 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
