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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion the talented actress—would be aware that she possesses much to discuss, whether on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a youth combat group. Plus, after watching the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 explains. The concept for the series came—to some extent—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her grasp major life lessons, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who were skeptical about her earlier will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to produce a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial existence that’s honest 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