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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only a bit late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion the talented actress—can already know that she possesses plenty to say, whether about roles, sex, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. And, after watching her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Influences and Creative Vision

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept went to Entourage, that show about a rising celebrity navigating in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that saw her understand some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Growing up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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 seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video called on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. The series does neither, creating a representation of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

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