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Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, ranging from on gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school fight club. And, after watching her recent seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further insights about the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new agent Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, the program depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for the series came—partly—from her own, initially difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her learn major insights, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) weird skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely drawn to having babies; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video titled on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

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