The star joins the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing truly apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she possesses plenty to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. And, after watching her recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, at first difficult, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that saw her learn significant life lessons, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 …”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “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 live shows with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could easy to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series does neither, creating a representation of advantaged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
