Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who know the boldly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further insights about the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her understand major life lessons, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, the star started writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts regarding her then will likely be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the mess 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 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
