Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit late, 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!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who know the fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she has a lot to say, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the program focusing on a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version 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 explains. The idea for this project emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially difficult, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her understand some big truths, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned about her previously will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to create a show about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
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
