🔗 Share this article

Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those who know her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—would understand that she holds plenty to discuss, be it on gender, sex, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. And, after watching the latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds even more perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version 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 concept for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn major truths, in her career and individually. “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…”

Humble Origins

Raised in New England, the star commenced creating and acting stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who had doubts about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content titled “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be simple to make a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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