The performer enters the online meeting and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who know her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. And, by the end the new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional insights on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for the series originated—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was an era that included her understand major truths, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing acting 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. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). Some could simple to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
