Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know her boldly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott has a lot to say, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further perspectives on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that show focusing on an emerging celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for the series came—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her learn major insights, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy 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. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip called on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a depiction of privileged millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
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
