Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “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, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those familiar with the unapologetically queer and brash project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to share, be it about identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and fledgling agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that program depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, 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 inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her understand significant truths, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created the perfect project. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
