Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really apologetic. Despite being only slightly late, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with her boldly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, be it about gender, sex, or the merits of creating a teen fight club. And, once you finish her recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant spot on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—partly—from personal, originally fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that involved her learn significant insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared content named on LA life online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be easy to create a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
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 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
