The performer appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott has a lot to discuss, be it on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a high-school fight club. And, after watching the recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version 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 says. The inspiration for this project emerged—partly—from her own, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. This represented an era that saw her grasp some big truths, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star started creating and acting humor while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who questioned regarding her previously will surely be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be easy to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
