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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know the fearlessly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott has a lot to share, ranging from on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she has additional perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing the show together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 idea for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a popular event for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant life lessons, professionally 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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Anyone who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.

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 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