The performer appears on the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the boldly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can already know that she holds a lot to say, be it about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching the recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on creative vision went to Entourage, the program depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, 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 explains. The inspiration for the series emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular event for followers. It was an era that included her learn significant life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
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 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
