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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really regretful. She is only a bit late, she needs 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!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to say, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, by the end the recent eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 says. The idea for this project originated—in part—from personal, at first difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that saw her learn significant truths, professionally 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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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 took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she has achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to create a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the mess and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

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