The actress and writer on her side-splitting show about the grotty glamour of younger generation lifestyle
Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in with her friend the talented actress—will understand that Sennott has a lot to say, be it on roles, sex, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress is a fan, citing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that program about an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her grasp significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical about her then will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s honest 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 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
