The performer joins the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding really apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she has much to discuss, whether on identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more thoughts regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest influence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, that program focusing on a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, at first rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for followers. It was an era that saw her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “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
Raised in New England, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional online content online. One, Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be regretting it today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the mess 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
