The star joins the online meeting and at once begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott has a lot to share, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. And, after watching her recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further perspectives about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest presence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, the show about an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from her own, at first difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts about her previously will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip called on LA life online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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 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
