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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott has much to say, be it on identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen fight club. Furthermore, by the end the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further insights about the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for this project came—in part—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to LA and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that included her grasp some big insights, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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 seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to motherhood; another portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip titled on LA life on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to create a show about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “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