The performer enters the digital interview and right away launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside close companion the talented actress—can understand that she holds a lot to say, whether about identity, sex, or the pros of starting a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching her recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about a rising celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her learn significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) weird online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her previously will likely be regretting it today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
