The performer enters the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely apologetic. She is only a bit late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen her boldly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she penned with the director and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, ranging from about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, after watching her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist 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 idea for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. It was a time that included her understand significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be feeling foolish currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to produce a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
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
