The star enters the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “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 exactly what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who have seen the boldly openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she has much to share, whether on identity, sex, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further insights regarding the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for the project, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose 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 the series came—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her grasp major life lessons, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked 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 the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be simple to produce a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
