Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled 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, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Those familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds even more thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also new talent manager Maia. However, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved 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 notes. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from firsthand, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a time that saw her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, the star started creating and acting comedy while enrolled in 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.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be regretting it now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to make a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
