The star appears on the video call and at once launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Anyone familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. Plus, once you finish the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more perspectives regarding the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Maia. However, the most significant spot on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a popular event for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her understand major life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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 began writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip titled on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to create a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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
