The star appears on the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “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, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know her unapologetically queer and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to discuss, whether on identity, sex, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. And, once you finish her latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more perspectives on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for the series emerged—partly—from her own, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and personally. “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
Brought up in New England, the star commenced creating and acting stand-up while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned about her previously will surely be regretting it currently. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created the perfect project. Previously she shared a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to make a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
