Rachel Sennott on her side-splitting series depicting that chaotic appeal of today's youth life

The star joins the online meeting and at once launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming truly remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she holds plenty to discuss, whether on gender, relationships, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. Plus, once you finish the new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more insights regarding the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend and new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 emerged—partly—from personal, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “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…”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to having babies; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who had doubts about her earlier will surely be regretting it now. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to produce a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. This show avoids both, creating a representation of affluent millennial living that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“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

Catherine Manning
Catherine Manning

A freelance arts journalist and curator based in London, specializing in contemporary music and visual arts.