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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit late, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know the fearlessly openly gay and brash film titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, be it on roles, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end her new multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for the series emerged—in part—from personal, initially difficult, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “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. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who questioned about her then will certainly be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to make a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“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