Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that Sennott possesses much to say, ranging from on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching her latest seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more insights regarding the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 explains. The inspiration for this project originated—partly—from personal, at first rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that saw her learn some big insights, in her career and personally. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and very) bizarre online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned about her earlier will likely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s honest about the grot 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
