The star joins the digital interview and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding really remorseful. Although she's only slightly late, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she possesses plenty to say, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. Plus, after watching her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally and new agent Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from her own, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked an era that saw her grasp major life lessons, in her career and individually. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, the star started creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to produce a program about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
