The performer enters the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, be it on identity, sex, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more insights on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, originally difficult, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre 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. “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?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
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 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
