The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Those familiar with the boldly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that she holds a lot to share, whether on identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more insights on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that involved her understand significant life lessons, 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…”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “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?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned about Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to make a show about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult 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 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
