Rachel Sennott is working on a new HBO coming-of-age comedy. Here’s why it’s bound to be perfect

By Charlie Sawyer

Published Mar 31, 2024 at 09:00 AM

Reading time: 3 minutes

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Image courtesy of Rachel Sennott from Instagram

Move aside Lena Dunham—it’s time we got to experience something fun, fresh, and actually feminist. The internet broke on 19 March 2024 when it was announced that Rachel Sennott, aka the woman who I would happily sell my left kidney for, has been tasked with creating a new coming-of-age comedy pilot—a series that’s expected to be reminiscent of former HBO hits Girls and Insecure.

This is incredibly exciting news, as over the past five years, Sennott has established herself as one of the most interesting voices in new-age comedy. She’s the type of woman who has a knack for both showcasing the best of the best when it comes to halter tops and integrating sarcasm and irony into her everyday dialogue. Long story short, she’s a certified Gen Z icon.

All you have to do is take a quick peek at Sennott’s portfolio, and it becomes aggressively obvious that she’s the perfect person for this project. From Bottoms and Shiva Baby to Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and Ayo and Rachel are Single, Sennott’s proven time and time again the importance of, say it with me, comedic timing:

While her comedic timing and delivery in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is unmatched, Sennott’s performance in Shiva Baby really confirmed to the entire world her skill at performing dialogue. Watching that film is akin to watching water boil and spill over the edges of a pot—it’s completely stressful, claustrophobic, and anxiety-inducing but also, ultimately, you’re kind of mesmerised by the chaos. You don’t feel as though you’re watching a girl pretending to be on the verge of a breakdown, you truly buy into Sennott’s entire psyche.

As previously mentioned, a lot of people are predicting whether or not the upcoming HBO pilot will be similar to Dunham’s Girls, a show that had all the girlies and gays in a chokehold back in 2012. Now, while we’re not looking for a Girls remake in the slightest, there are moments from that show—particularly during group scenes—that were pretty brilliant and very expertly showcased the realities of female friendships. I just know that Sennott will be able to create moments on screen that will recreate the spark of those Girls moments, but with so much more nuance and modern insight.

Plus, I’d argue that there has been so much important discourse on social media about Girls that will help Sennott and the rest of the creative team make informed decisions about this new chapter of girlhood onscreen. It is crucial to note that considering there is a white woman at the helm, diversity in both cast and creative production needs to be at the forefront of this new project in order to make sure that Dunham’s mistakes aren’t repeated.

Lots of people are rewatching Girls at the minute and while we can appreciate and recognise the fact that the show was massively significant for women in TV and particularly normal women being funny on screen, it also had a serious blindspot when it came to life outside of the white sphere.

So, who is going to star in Rachel Sennott’s new show? There are lots of incredible potential candidates. One name I’ve seen floating around quite a bit is Myha’la, a 27-year-old actor who starred in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies alongside Sennott. One of Myha’la’s other seminal projects was Black Mirror, featuring in Loch Henry—arguably the best episode of season six.

One TikToker, @hannahzookpop, made the very relevant point that the majority of Myha’la’s parts up until now have been quite serious and considering how funny she was in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, it makes sense that we could see her sashay into a more comedic role.

Another person I’d love to see in Sennott’s new show is, of course, Miss Molly Gordon. Theatre Camp was easily my favourite film of 2023 and I think Gordon’s dry sense of humour and sheer commitment to the bit would make her a perfect addition to a rag-tag little group of girlies struggling their way through the New York art scene.

And finally, I’d love to see Chloe Bailey considered for this show. I was a massive fan of Grown-ish and I think there haven’t been enough opportunities for us to see Bailey in a fully goofy comedic setting. Bailey is an incredibly dynamic performer and she also has a serious emotional range. I know she’s been focusing on her music career, but a quick little four-series HBO show could be squeezed into the schedule, no?

Now, I will say, I—like everyone else on the planet—love Ayo Edebiri, and while I think she would slay in a show like this, she might just be that bit too famous. Plus, that girl is going to be booked and busy for at least the next five to ten working years.

So, there we have it. We’re likely going to have to wait for a hot minute before we even get a taste of what Sennott’s cooked up for this season, but I can imagine that it’ll be very worth it. Oh, and if we don’t get at least two new toxic white men to thirst after, I’m suing HBO.