Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and at once starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott has much to say, whether on identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. And, once you finish her recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more insights about the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she is a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and ally and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant presence on concept went to the HBO series, the show about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for the series emerged—partly—from her own, at first rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her understand major truths, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing stand-up 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. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a representation of affluent young adult existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
