Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes 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!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with her friend the talented actress—can be aware that she possesses much to discuss, be it on gender, sex, or the merits of creating a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights on the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest spot on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her grasp some big insights, professionally and individually. “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.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “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.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) weird skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be simple to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
