The performer enters the digital interview and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she has plenty to discuss, be it about gender, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. And, after watching her new eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project originated—in part—from personal, at first rocky, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was a time 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. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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 amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts about her then will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared content named on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could easy to make a series about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
