Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would already know that Sennott has a lot to discuss, ranging from about gender, sex, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching her recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the show about an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked an era that saw her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, the star started developing and showcasing humor 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 states. “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.”
She seized control, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to make a program about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show does neither, making for a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
