Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically queer and brash project Bottoms—that she penned with the director and featured in with her friend the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, be it about roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her new seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts on the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, citing it alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally and new representative Maia. Perhaps, the most significant presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that program depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for this project came—in part—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her understand some big life lessons, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely obsessed with having babies; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it today. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a clip called about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could simple to make a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos 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
