The actress and writer on her side-splitting show about that grotty glamour of younger generation existence
Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those familiar with the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that she possesses plenty to say, be it about identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. And, once you finish her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras skilled for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project came—partly—from personal, at first fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. This represented a phase that involved her grasp major truths, professionally and individually. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting humor 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. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a clip called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be simple to produce a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent young adult existence that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
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
