Rachel Sennott enters the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she needs to explain. “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, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that she penned with the director and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about roles, intimacy, or the merits of starting a youth combat group. Plus, by the end the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional insights on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her understand significant truths, in her career and individually. “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
Raised in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about her then will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
