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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only a bit behind, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she holds a lot to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her learn major insights, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be simple to produce a program about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“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