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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to justify. “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, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will already know that she has plenty to discuss, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school brawl society. And, after watching her new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional insights on the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for this project came—in part—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that included her grasp some big insights, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, the star started creating and acting stand-up while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical about her previously will surely be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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