Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, 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, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those familiar with the boldly queer and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that she holds a lot to share, whether on gender, relationships, or the appeal of starting a youth brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish the recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional insights on the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally and aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, 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 explains. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from personal, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting stand-up while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical regarding her then will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). Some could simple to produce a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
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
