The actress and writer discussing the uproarious show depicting the grotty allure of Gen Z life
Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly apologetic. Although she's only slightly late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend the talented actress—can understand that she holds much to share, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the pros of forming a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching the new seasonal show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the show about a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for this project originated—partly—from firsthand, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “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
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video named on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. The series does neither, creating a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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