The star appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled 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!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she possesses a lot to say, whether on roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also new talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest presence on concept went to Entourage, that show focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The idea for I Love LA came—in part—from personal, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her understand significant insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up 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 says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and very) weird online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical about Sennott then will likely be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she posted a clip titled on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to produce a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
