The star enters the video call and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding really regretful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she possesses a lot to discuss, whether about gender, sex, or the pros of forming a youth fight club. And, by the end the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, that show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided 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 inspiration for this project originated—in part—from personal, at first fractious, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a phase that included her grasp significant truths, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding her earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to create a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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