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Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know the fearlessly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she possesses much to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the merits of creating a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is a fan, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for this project came—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her learn some big insights, in her career and in private life. “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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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?”

Sennott decided to act independently, performing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to create a show about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

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