The performer appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and appeared in together with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she has a lot to share, whether on identity, intimacy, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. And, by the end her latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more perspectives on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, citing it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that show focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was a phase that involved her learn major truths, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about her then will likely be feeling foolish today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
