The star joins the video call and at once starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she holds a lot to share, whether about gender, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. And, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on concept went to the HBO series, the program depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose 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 inspiration for the series originated—partly—from personal, initially rocky, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was a time that involved her learn major insights, in her career 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 began writing and performing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her previously will certainly be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might easy to create a program about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
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
