The star joins the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone who know the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses a lot to share, be it about roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a youth combat group. Furthermore, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is an admirer, citing it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, that show focusing on a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for this project emerged—in part—from personal, initially difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that saw her understand some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be easy to create a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
