The star enters the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes late, she needs to explain. “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 exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who know the fearlessly openly gay and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and starred in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, ranging from about roles, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching her recent eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional perspectives about the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that show about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her learn some big insights, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). One might tempting to create a series about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
