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Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only a bit late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she has much to discuss, be it about gender, relationships, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further insights about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved 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 notes. The idea for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her grasp significant truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing acting 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 took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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