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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who know the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she possesses much to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. And, by the end the recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further insights on the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging different age groups).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from her own, originally fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that involved her grasp significant truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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?”

Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Anyone who were skeptical about her then will surely be regretting it now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded content titled on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be simple to make a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.

Balanced Perspective

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she says. “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