Las Culturistas — "Elevated Messy" (w/ Rachel Sennott)

Air date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang
Guest: Rachel Sennott

Episode Overview

This episode of Las Culturistas reunites comedians and real-life friends Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang with actor, comedian, and creator Rachel Sennott, just as her new HBO show "I Love LA" premieres. The conversation roams from their early New York comedy days to living and working in Los Angeles, personal growth, and the complicated, relatable beauty of being a little bit "elevated messy" in adulthood. It's a warm, hilarious, and self-reflective trip through formative moments, career milestones, and the cult(ure) of community in show business.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Old Times and Comedy Family (03:34 – 08:30)

• Reconnecting with Rachel: The hosts reminisce about their "Gay Bonnaroo”/“I Don’t Think So Honey" shows at The Bell House, reflecting on a pivotal night when Rachel arrived, "sobbing."
• Rachel’s State of Mind: She was 23, going through a breakup, simultaneously presenting as put-together but internally unraveling.
  • “I was just sitting in the back room, open, sobbing…. Not only was I crying, I was like, ripping poppers.” — Rachel (06:54)
  • "That's community care. 50 people in the community just descending on you to show support. But also… we also have to get ready for our baby." — Bowen (07:17)
• Theme: Vulnerability and support are the foundation of their comedy community, having seen each other at both highs and lows.

2. Addicted to Poppers: An Era (08:30 – 13:31)

• Poppers and Heartbreak: Rachel details her comedically tragic poppers era—introduced via a straight male friend, intensifying after her breakup ("I start looking for something… I go, what's here?").
  • “I think there’s a piece of my brain missing from that time.” — Rachel (10:13)
• The New York vs. LA Poppers Scene: In NYC, “you can get them at the pet store for $4” but in LA it was a mission, highlighting cultural differences.
• Coping Mechanisms: Poppers acted as Rachel’s emotional pacifier and access point for tears and laughter.

3. Saturn Return: Personal Growth & Isolation (13:31 – 18:03)

• Overcorrecting: Rachel’s move to LA followed by an attempt to "lock down” and “become a hermit” led to more isolation—trading external chaos for internal control.
• Character Inspiration: Rachel explains how her new show's characters Tallulah and Maya each manifest aspects of her “messy 20s in NY” and her later, more controlled LA self: “Together they are better... I hope now I’m a more evolved person.” (16:37)
• Bowen frames it as: “You are representing Apollo (order/control) and Dionysus (hedonism/fun).”
  • “Dionysus wants poppers desperately.” — Matt (18:01)

4. The Poppers Dependency and Queer Culture (18:03 – 20:27)

• Intersection with Sex: Matt opens up about his own poppers dependency, especially its tie to sex in gay relationships.
  • “When I tell you, like, never been, it was a thing I talked to my therapist about for almost a year… It was the only thing I’d have the urge to Sabrina Carpenter-lie to my therapist about, because I was like, 'This is humiliating.’” — Matt (18:45)
• Notable Quote: “It is a little bit like to have it around all the time—there are holes in your brain.” — Matt (20:27)
• Shared Understanding: Addiction becomes hardwired when it’s intimately tied to emotional and social experiences.

5. Making "I Love LA" & LA vs. NY Comedy (24:45 – 32:59)

• Early Pitching Days: Rachel recounts LA general meetings where execs spent 45 minutes listening, then said, “Come to us with one sentence.”
• Change in Opportunity: Bowen and Matt marvel at Rachel’s journey from “one sentence” pitches to HBO stardom.
  • “Now you go to that same place. Here’s the keys to your own nice car. And we’re not giving out a lot of cars.” — Matt (45:48)
• On LA Culture in the Show: They discuss how “I Love LA” captures both the city’s isolating and beautiful sides and its shifting bar scenes.
  • “It’s really isolating here. I think that's just— that’s the sentence. If there is a sentence for the show, that is the sentence.” — Bowen (34:05)

6. Growth, Success, Balance, and Perfectionism (35:01 – 44:42)

• Work/Life Mindset Shift: Rachel reflects on how making the show taught her to embrace life while working on it, rather than waiting for the “reward” after success.
  • “We need to find self-worth at God. I think this year I was also like… you need to find value in the making of the thing—and your friends and family and relationship.” — Rachel (39:55)
• Image vs. Reality in Celebrity: The group reflects on performers like Charli XCX and how public personas rarely reveal exhaustion and endless hard work. “Perception is not always reality.” — Matt (43:11)

7. Alt Comedy, Identity, and the Messiness Factor (44:43 – 47:00)

• Being Alt, Being Messy: They discuss their Brooklyn “alt-comedy” roots, where authenticity and saying the unsayable were prized, and how moving into mainstream comes with new pressures to self-edit.
  • “What makes me is the messiness, and then suddenly there I am on a red carpet, and you’re like, huh?” — Matt (45:27)

8. Support & Community Changes Over Time (47:27 – 51:37)

• Growth & Emotional Connection: Recognizing emotional maturity but also grief for what’s changed in the comedy community ("Did I just grow out of what that was?").
• Keeping Your Crew: “If you’ve had a lot of the same friends for a long time, huge indicator of being really genuine and not having actually changed.” — Matt (48:29)
• Generational Solidarity: Rachel lauds her “grade” for supporting each other and keeping real.

9. Saturn Return, Adulthood, & Maturity (58:36 – 64:51)

• Saturn Returns Explored: Bowen, Matt, and Rachel share their Saturn return experiences—messy, formative years of late 20s, still rippling through their lives; it’s less astrology, more a “first adulthood crisis.”
  • “What the Saturn return really is, is the settling into adulthood. The realization you are an adult, and there is no going back.” — Matt (63:31)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Rachel on Growth:
  “What I’m hoping is that now I’m a more evolved person—where I have a little bit more balance, a little bit more freedom, intuition, and I can have fun. But I’m not completely out-of-control disaster mess.” (16:37)

• Reflecting on Community:
  “That’s community care—50 people in the community just descending on you to show support… but we also have to get ready for our baby.” — Bowen (07:17)

• On LA’s Rule-Breaking Driving:
  “If you want to drive in LA, the only way to drive is to break the rules... To drive safely, you have to drive dangerously." — Rachel (86:07, 87:51)

• On Generational Support:
  “What I really feel like our generation, our grade has done really well—we were all in high school together—is actually genuinely supporting each other and having each other's backs...” — Rachel (48:46)

• On Adulthood Shifts:
  “As we get older, we may be less invested in the things that would’ve devastated us earlier.” — Matt (62:50)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [03:34] — Reuniting with Rachel, the infamous “sobbing/poppers” night at The Bell House
• [04:57–13:31] — Rachel’s poppers/heartbreak phase and how it shaped her
• [16:37] — Rachel outlines the duality of her show’s characters and ties to personal growth
• [18:45] — Matt’s personal experience with poppers dependency
• [24:45] — Rachel’s first "Come on, It’s LA" trip and navigating LA industry meetings
• [34:05] — The isolating quality of LA and how the show captures it
• [39:49] — “Finding value in the making of the thing,” not just in achievements
• [45:04] — Alt-comedy roots vs. mainstream success and expectations
• [47:27] — Emotional connections through community and nostalgia for old spaces
• [52:44–53:16] — The “taste of my 20s” (flat Brooklyn lager, vodka cranberry, whiskey sour)
• [58:36–64:51] — Individual Saturn return stories and processing adulthood
• [76:27] — The return of “I Don’t Think So, Honey” segment:
  • Matt: ASMR
  • Bowen: The joy of pressing buttons (vs touchscreens)
  • Rachel: “I don’t think so, honey—driving!”

Tone & Language

• Warm, honest, deeply irreverent, and self-deprecatingly funny.
• The hosts and guest freely switch between confession, critique, and celebration, always returning to the wisdom that comes with mess and friendship.

Memorable Moments

• “Dionysus wants poppers.” (18:01)
• On driving in LA:
  “To drive safely, you have to drive dangerously.” — Rachel (86:07)
• On outgrowing old community spaces:
  “Did I just grow out of what that was or did I in some way... not do a good enough job of staying connected?” — Matt (51:14)
• Rachel passed out at chorus concerts “on purpose for attention.” (70:09)
• The "I Don’t Think So, Honey" rants returning, with all three excelling.

Summary Takeaway

"Elevated Messy" blends nostalgia, vulnerability, candor about addiction and adulthood, and earnest celebration of growth. Through laughter and self-examination, Rachel, Matt, and Bowen reveal how evolving careers and locations have forced them to rewrite what it means to be “messy,” find joy in the process, keep their core crew, and confront adulthood—and how comedy, at its best, remains a communal act of care.

For newcomers, this episode is a spirited, relatable snapshot of artists growing up—but refusing to grow boring or lose their vital mess.