The actress and writer on her hilarious comedy portraying the messy allure of today's youth lifestyle

Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really regretful. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would understand that she has plenty to discuss, whether on gender, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end her recent seasonal program I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further thoughts on the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting different age groups).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that program depicting an emerging A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The concept for the series came—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that saw her understand significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in Connecticut, the star began creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who questioned regarding her previously will surely be kicking themselves now. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a video named on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.

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 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

Jasmine Wolf
Jasmine Wolf

Elara is a passionate writer and adventurer who shares her experiences and lessons from life's winding roads.