Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott holds plenty to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the merits of creating a high-school brawl society. And, by the end the latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which details the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the show depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist 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 this project emerged—in part—from personal, at first fractious, move to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that included her learn some big truths, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her then will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she shared content titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to create a program about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
