Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing truly regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she has much to discuss, whether about identity, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school combat group. And, after watching her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. However, the biggest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for this project came—in part—from her own, initially fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular event for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her learn some big truths, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, the star began creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to manifested an ideal role. A few years back she shared content named on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to make a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. The series steers clear of each, creating a portrait of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
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 says. “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
