The performer appears on the online meeting and right away starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she wants 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!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott has plenty to discuss, be it about identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. And, by the end her new eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more insights regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, citing it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest influence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom about an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from firsthand, originally difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her learn major truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting stand-up while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it now. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she has created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to produce a series about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot 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 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
