Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved 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 says. The idea for this project came—in part—from her own, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her grasp major life lessons, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star started creating and acting humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be simple to create a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the chaos 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
