The performer appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really apologetic. Despite being 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!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen her boldly openly gay and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will already know that she holds a lot to discuss, whether about identity, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end her new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from personal, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her learn significant insights, professionally and individually. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to make a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. The series does neither, making for a portrait of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
