The performer enters the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she has plenty to discuss, be it about identity, relationships, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has further thoughts about the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, she is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and new agent Maia. However, the largest influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for this project came—to some extent—from her own, at first fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that saw her learn significant insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing comedy while pursuing performance 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it now. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she posted content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could tempting to produce a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, creating a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
