Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing truly apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in with her friend The Bear’s standout—will already know that she possesses much to discuss, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish the recent eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for the project, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally and fledgling representative Maia. Notably, the largest influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that program about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—partly—from personal, initially rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her understand major insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might easy to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the mess 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 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
