The performer joins the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she holds plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the recent seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has further perspectives on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing it alongside the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest presence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the program about a rising A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA emerged—partly—from firsthand, initially difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her understand some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted content named on LA life on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
