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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding really regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know her fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, be it on gender, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school brawl society. And, once you finish her new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative Maia. However, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about an emerging Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose 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 idea for the series came—partly—from her own, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big insights, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to create a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“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