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Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who know the unapologetically queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—would already know that she holds a lot to share, be it on identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish the new seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more perspectives regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. However, the most significant influence on concept went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for the series emerged—partly—from her own, originally rocky, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that involved her learn significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began 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 says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who questioned regarding her then will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she posted content titled on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

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