The performer enters the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott possesses much to say, ranging from about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, by the end her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more thoughts on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new representative Maia. However, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose 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 notes. The idea for this project originated—in part—from her own, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that involved her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to create a series about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
