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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Although she's only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott possesses a lot to say, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, referencing the show together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, the program focusing on an emerging Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for this project originated—in part—from personal, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her grasp some big insights, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in New England, Sennott started creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who questioned regarding her then will likely be feeling foolish today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has created her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, creating a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

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 comments. “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