Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who know her unapologetically openly gay and brash project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside close companion the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses much to discuss, whether about roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. Plus, after watching the latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, citing it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and aspiring representative Maia. However, the biggest presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 says. The inspiration for the series came—partly—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her understand significant life lessons, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be regretting it now. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she posted a clip named on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to create a series about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, creating a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s frank 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
