The star appears on the online meeting and right away begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Plus, by the end the recent eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional insights about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided 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 the series came—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that included her grasp major truths, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical about her previously will likely be regretting it now. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. This show does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
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 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
