The performer joins the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with her friend the talented actress—can be aware that she holds plenty to discuss, whether on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching her recent eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw 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 recalls. “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
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who questioned about her earlier will certainly be regretting it now. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a clip named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“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