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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming truly regretful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. And, once you finish her recent seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and new agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“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—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her grasp significant insights, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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 developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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 seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she has created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could easy to produce a series about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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