The star joins the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in alongside her friend the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott holds plenty to say, be it on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, naming it alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which follows the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision went to Entourage, the show about a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular event for enthusiasts. This represented a time that saw her understand some big truths, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she has created an ideal role. Previously she shared content titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be simple to create a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, making for a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
