The star appears on the video call and at once starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott has plenty to share, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. Plus, after watching the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further perspectives on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, naming it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant presence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her learn major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “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 …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “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.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could easy to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
