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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside close companion the talented actress—can be aware that she has a lot to share, whether about gender, sex, or the appeal of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, by the end her recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. However, the largest spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for the series emerged—to some extent—from personal, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was an era that included her learn major insights, 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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will likely be regretting it today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded content called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to make a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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