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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only slightly late, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to share, be it about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, citing it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on concept went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for this project originated—partly—from personal, at first fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn major insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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?”

Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be simple to produce a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult life that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.

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