The star joins the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “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, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds much to say, ranging from about roles, sex, or the merits of starting a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end her latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her grasp significant insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content named on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to make a program about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, creating a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
