The star enters the digital interview and at once launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those familiar with the unapologetically queer and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott holds plenty to say, whether on roles, sex, or the merits of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more insights regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show about a rising celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, 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 inspiration for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, originally fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. That period marked a time that involved her learn significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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 decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it now. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to produce a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s candid about the chaos 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 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
