Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—can already know that Sennott has much to say, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. And, once you finish the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, naming it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version 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—partly—from firsthand, originally fractious, move to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her grasp major insights, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy 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. 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.”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her previously will certainly be regretting it now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
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
