The performer joins the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott has a lot to discuss, be it on roles, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. Plus, by the end the new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further perspectives regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the program focusing on a rising A-list actor succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that involved her learn major insights, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical about her previously will likely be kicking themselves currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a video called about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she says. “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
