The performer enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that she has plenty to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further thoughts about the struggles of modern youth (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the largest spot on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA came—in part—from personal, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that saw her grasp major insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, the star commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre 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.”
She decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to create a program about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
