The performer enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, be it on identity, sex, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish her new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries further perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, the program depicting a rising A-list actor making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for this project emerged—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her learn major truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing stand-up while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos managing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of affluent young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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
