The star enters the digital interview and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Those who know the fearlessly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—can already know that Sennott has plenty to say, whether about gender, relationships, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish her latest seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional thoughts regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the program focusing on a rising A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“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 emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that included her learn some big insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she has achieved an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded content called on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might simple to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
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
