The actress and writer on her side-splitting show portraying the chaotic appeal of younger generation existence
The performer enters the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really apologetic. Despite being only slightly behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know her boldly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, by the end the recent eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new representative Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that show about an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist 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 inspiration for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding her then will likely be regretting it today. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video called on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to produce a series about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show does neither, making for a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
