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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who know her boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, whether on identity, sex, or the appeal of forming a teen brawl society. And, once you finish her latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has further insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, citing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, that show about a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The inspiration for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her understand some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” 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.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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