Rachel Sennott exploring her uproarious show depicting that chaotic allure of today's youth life

Rachel Sennott enters the video call and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, ranging from on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a youth fight club. Plus, after watching her new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more insights on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“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 originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a time that included her understand significant truths, 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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves currently. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be simple to produce a series about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of advantaged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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

Ryan Knight
Ryan Knight

A passionate student advocate and deal hunter, dedicated to helping peers save money and make the most of their academic journey.