The star appears on the video call and at once starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly regretful. She is only a bit behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, be it on identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. And, by the end the new multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the largest influence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version 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 concept for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big truths, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
