The star joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott possesses a lot to say, whether on roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. And, after watching the new eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project came—in part—from personal, originally difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her understand some big life lessons, professionally and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “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 the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been peers supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about Sennott then will surely be regretting it currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult existence that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
