The actress and writer discussing her hilarious show depicting that messy glamour of today's youth existence
The performer joins the video call and right away launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds a lot to say, whether on identity, sex, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. And, once you finish her latest seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more insights on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that program depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for the series came—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “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.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical about her then will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared content called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
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
