The star joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming truly remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can already know that she holds much to say, ranging from on gender, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, once you finish her latest eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that program depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for this project emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular event for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that involved her understand some big truths, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star commenced writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it currently. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
