Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott has much to discuss, be it about identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her recent seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional insights about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and new talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the largest influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for this project originated—in part—from personal, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her learn some big truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star began writing and performing humor while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted content named on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
