The performer joins the video call and at once starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she holds plenty to discuss, whether about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. And, once you finish the recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts regarding the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is an admirer, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version 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 this project originated—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that involved her learn major truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star began writing and performing stand-up while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned regarding her then will certainly be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers managing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could easy to produce a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
