Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she wants 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!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott has much to say, whether on identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more insights on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also new representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the program focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“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 personal, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that involved her understand some big life lessons, in her career and in private life. “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…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical about her earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to produce a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s honest about the grot 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 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
