The performer enters the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “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, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with close companion the talented actress—would be aware that she has plenty to share, whether on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the show focusing on a rising celebrity making his way in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for this project came—in part—from firsthand, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her learn significant insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). One might tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
