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Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who know the boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that Sennott has much to discuss, ranging from on identity, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. Furthermore, after watching the latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has additional perspectives about the struggles of modern youth (At 30, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).

Guiding Lights and Creative Vision

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the show about a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved 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 explains. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from her own, at first fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her learn major life lessons, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and very) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical regarding her previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be easy to make a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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