Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott possesses a lot to share, be it about roles, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more perspectives on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on concept went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for this project emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her grasp some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her then will likely be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip titled on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be simple to make a series about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
