The star joins the video call and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who know the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott has plenty to say, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional perspectives regarding the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided 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 notes. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
