Rachel Sennott discussing the uproarious comedy depicting the messy appeal of younger generation existence

The star joins the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really apologetic. Although she's only slightly behind, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she has much to discuss, ranging from about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth combat group. Plus, after watching the new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries additional thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, citing it together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally and new representative Maia. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that saw her grasp some big insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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

Raised in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in theatre 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.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts about Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it today. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she posted content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to create a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.

Balanced Perspective

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

Mary Reed
Mary Reed

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in SEO and content marketing, passionate about helping businesses scale online.