🔗 Share this article

Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, by the end the recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further perspectives about the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, naming the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“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 came—in part—from personal, at first difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. It was an era that included her grasp major insights, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “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

Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could tempting to make a series about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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