The performer enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she wants to justify. “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!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that she possesses much to discuss, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more insights on the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA came—in part—from personal, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her grasp significant insights, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to create a program about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of affluent millennial life that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
