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If you've ever witnessed Rachel Sennott and Jordan Firstman's friendship antics — either via Instagram dumps, their fictional roles on HBO's "I Love LA," or in their series of films for Venmo — then you know their bond is a swirl of irreverent humor and playful chaos and earnest love.
The duo met on a blind friend date through their mutual friend, Ayo Edebiri ("who has a small following, I would say; she's on some indie show called 'The Bear,'" Firstman jokes), and did dinner and karaoke together.
"Ayo and I were singing a big song — I think it was 'Wuthering Heights' — and right before the chorus, Rachel accidentally turned on her song, which was next," Firstman recounts. "And I got half-real-mad, half-fake-mad, and Rachel basically started crying because she felt so bad. And that was the first time I was super endeared to her."
Art, as it turns out, imitates life. On "I Love LA," an show Sennott created, writes, and stars in, Sennott and Firstman play Maia and Charlie, a duo trying to make their way in the world of managing and styling Hollywood influencers and celebrities.
Most recently, the duo worked on three Venmo short films with each other, cowriting a series that stars them as, surprise, the real-life BFFs that they are. The latest film just dropped, and in it, the duo is sipping on smoothies while they argue about Sennott stealing Firstman's "thing," the Venmo Stash reward, before ultimately making up.
To celebrate the iconic duo's latest collaboration, we sat in on a conversation about their unique friendship, their ideal dinner party, and more. Keep reading below.
Jordan Firstman: What is something about me that you've learned during our friendship that surprises you the most?
Rachel Sennott: I was actually texting you about this. This is something you've taught me, and it wasn't necessarily something I didn't expect of you, but you taught me that you can have fun and enjoy life and also be one of the hardest-working people.
You're one of my favorite artists, you're one of the hardest-working people I have ever met, and you are the most fun person to go on a trip with, to spend time with, to go out to dinner with.
In my mind, I always felt like those things had to be separate, and you taught me that you can do both — and that living your life fuels your art. I'm grateful for that.
JF: Don't make me cry on camera.
RS: Oh — we're off camera, so you can do a silent cry. . . . OK, and what do you think is the most chaotic part of our friendship?
JF: I think I'm going to kind of reframe the question a little bit, because I feel like we actually are each other's comfort person in our chaos. I feel like the chaos is happening all around us, and when I look at you at an event, I just know I'm safe. And I feel like we clock the exact same things in everyone, and we can get together at the end of the night and be like, "This person was insane. This person . . ." Like, we just — we know who hates us, we know who loves us. It's a very tricky industry and town to navigate, and I feel like we are honest with each other and ground each other in the midst of all the chaos.
RS: Yes. I love that answer. I was going to say scheduling is the most chaotic part. We finally got dinner last night on the books with our very close friends — Jared [Ellner], Owen [Thiele] — and it's like we hadn't had one in months, like five months.
But to get it scheduled, that's chaotic. But I like your answer.
JF: And for me, the best part of that dinner was looking at you and then paying with my Venmo debit card.
RS: That's true. . . . Seeing you was great, catching up was great — but whipping out that Venmo debit card? It just hits different.
JF: It just hits different. . . . So if we were planning on cohosting a dinner party together, who are we inviting?
RS: Our two friends — well, Jared and Owen. We would invite the cast . . . I mean, it depends on how big of a dinner party. If we're going small, we just do our dinner from last night — Sam, Sebastian, Blake.
JF: But partners are involved. I think we should have a couple wild cards in there, you know?
RS: Yeah, like someone you don't know that I'm friends with, or vice versa.
JF: Totally. One of the other first times I hung out with Rachel, me and Benito Skinner came over . . .
RS: Oh my god.
JF: And Rachel had made a rule for herself that she didn't want to gossip, and we forced her to talk shit about so many people. We were like the evil gays coming in and forcing this innocent girl to talk shit, but she needed it, because she did have things to say.
And if we were hosting, I see drinks, hosting, a fabulous atmosphere. Different cuisines, ordering in — just a vibe.
RS: Love, love. Also, age diversity is key. That's the next wave of cool parties.
JF: Yes — our friend Lorraine has the best parties because there are 80-year-olds, 19-year-olds — it's a full range. OK, last question. Favorite part of our friendship?
RS: It's all-encompassing.
JF: I got my tarot cards read, and it said Rachel is going to be one of the most important people in my life.
RS: I have a reading that says we were family in a past life.
JF: I believe it. I love you.
Lena Felton (she/her) is a senior director of special projects at PS, where she oversees sponsored packages, tentpole projects, and editorial partnerships. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity. She has been working in journalism since 2017, during which time her focus has been feature writing and editing and elevating historically underrepresented voices. Lena has worked for The Atlantic, InStyle, So It Goes, and more.
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