The performer joins the digital interview and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know the fearlessly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, whether on roles, sex, or the appeal of forming a teen fight club. Plus, by the end her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, 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 explains. The inspiration for the series came—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her understand some big truths, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while enrolled in performance 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. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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 took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about her then will certainly be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to produce a program about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
