The performer joins the online meeting and right away begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she possesses much to share, be it about gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen fight club. Plus, after watching her new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she has further insights regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for I Love LA came—in part—from personal, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that included her grasp some big truths, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) unconventional skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she comments. “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
