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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only slightly behind, she needs to justify. “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!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who know her boldly queer and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school combat group. And, after watching the new eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further insights on the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the show focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for the series emerged—partly—from personal, at first fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that included her learn some big insights, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Growing up in Connecticut, the star started creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned about her previously will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content named on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

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