Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a bit 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!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and appeared in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, ranging from on roles, sex, or the pros of creating a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish her recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further insights about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, originally rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her understand major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing humor while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will likely be regretting it today. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted a video called on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
