Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it on identity, sex, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. And, after watching her recent eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional insights about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 the series emerged—in part—from her own, initially difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that involved her learn significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “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, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested the perfect project. A few years back she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be tempting to make a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
