Rachel Sennott on her uproarious show portraying the chaotic allure of younger generation existence
Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion the talented actress—will be aware that she has plenty to discuss, be it on identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. And, after watching her latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the show depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The idea for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented a time that saw her grasp major insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “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 Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts regarding her then will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created the perfect project. Previously she shared a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to produce a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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