Rachel Sennott on her hilarious comedy portraying that messy glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
The performer joins the digital interview and at once starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really apologetic. She is only slightly late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott holds plenty to share, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, after watching the recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, referencing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for this project came—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. This represented an era that involved her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a clip called on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be simple to make a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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