The performer enters the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she wants to clarify. “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, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, whether on roles, sex, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, the program focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially rocky, move to LA and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her learn significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) weird online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about her then will surely be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she shared content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
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
