The star appears on the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who know her fearlessly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—will already know that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a youth fight club. And, after watching her new eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for her series, which details the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 inspiration for the series originated—partly—from her own, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was a phase that involved her learn some big insights, in her career and individually. “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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it now. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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