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Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a youth brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more insights about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she is an honorary member for this generation, 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 admits to being enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her learn significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Brought up in New England, the star started writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “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.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will likely be regretting it now. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video titled “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could simple to create a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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