The star joins the video call and at once begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants 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!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who know the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her recent multi-episode show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional thoughts about the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which follows the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that saw her learn some big insights, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, Sennott started creating and acting stand-up while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely fixated on having babies; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has created the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could easy to create a show about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
