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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott has a lot to say, whether on roles, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, by the end her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more perspectives regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the program depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version 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 says. The idea for this project originated—partly—from personal, at first difficult, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her grasp some big truths, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who had doubts regarding her previously will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be simple to make a series about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show does neither, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.

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