The star enters the video call and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott possesses a lot to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. And, by the end her recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, the program about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from her own, originally difficult, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a video named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to make a program about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of affluent millennial living that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
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
