Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott has much to discuss, whether on identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching the new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more insights on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which tracks the travails of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that show about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for the series came—partly—from her own, at first difficult, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular event for followers. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she has created an ideal role. Previously she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). One might easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot 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 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
