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Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only slightly late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott has a lot to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, once you finish her latest eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more thoughts regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new representative Sennott’s character. However, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for the HBO series, the show about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The concept for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her learn major truths, in her career and individually. “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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish today. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has created an ideal role. Previously she posted a video named “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could easy to produce a program about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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