Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds a lot to say, whether on gender, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end the latest seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The idea for this project came—in part—from personal, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her learn major insights, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted content named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
