The performer joins the video call and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding really remorseful. Although she's only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses much to discuss, whether on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, she is an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 idea for the series originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her learn some big truths, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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 …”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about her previously will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to make a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
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
