The performer enters the online meeting and at once begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, be it about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. And, by the end her recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is a fan, naming it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved 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 I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was an era that saw her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) weird online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned about Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. This show does neither, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
