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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who know the fearlessly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—which she penned with the director and featured in alongside close companion the talented actress—can understand that she has much to discuss, ranging from about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a teen combat group. And, after watching her new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling both generations).

Influences and Creative Vision

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest influence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“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 came—to some extent—from personal, at first rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her learn significant truths, professionally and in private life. “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…”

Humble Origins

Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting stand-up while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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