The performer enters the video call and at once starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott has plenty to discuss, whether on roles, sex, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her latest multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds even more perspectives on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp adept for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, the show about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, initially fractious, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her grasp significant truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up 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. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a video named on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a show about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
