Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—that she penned with the director and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—will understand that she has plenty to share, ranging from on gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the program depicting a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version 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 says. The inspiration for this project came—in part—from her own, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her grasp some big truths, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip named about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. This show does neither, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
