The performer enters the online meeting and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott holds much to say, ranging from about roles, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, after watching her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional insights on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the program about a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from her own, originally difficult, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular event for followers. That period marked a phase that involved her grasp significant insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to produce a program about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
