Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who have seen the boldly queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside close companion the talented actress—will be aware that she possesses a lot to say, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is a fan, naming the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager Maia. However, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, 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 says. The inspiration for the series came—partly—from personal, at first difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented a phase that saw her learn major insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a portrait of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
