Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing really apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically openly gay and brash film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds plenty to say, whether about roles, sex, or the pros of creating a youth brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her latest seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further insights on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the program depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—to some extent—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was an era that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott then will surely be regretting it currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip titled on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to create a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
