The performer joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Plus, by the end the latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, naming it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for the project, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her learn major insights, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre online content online. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to make a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
