Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she holds a lot to discuss, whether on gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth combat group. And, once you finish the recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, citing the show together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “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”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from her own, initially fractious, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that included her learn significant truths, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started 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 says. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding her then will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
