The actress and writer discussing her uproarious series about that messy glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only slightly late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—will be aware that she holds plenty to say, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new multi-episode show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. This represented a phase that included her grasp some big insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might simple to make a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
