The performer joins the digital interview and at once launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she holds much to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the pros of forming a teen brawl society. And, by the end her latest multi-episode show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries even more thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new representative Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the show about a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, 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 I Love LA originated—partly—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. It was a time that saw her learn some big insights, professionally and personally. “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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively obsessed with motherhood; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). Some could simple to create a program about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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
