The star appears on the online meeting and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she needs 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!” Luckily, for a writer, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she holds plenty to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. And, once you finish the new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds even more thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, referencing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for the series originated—partly—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that involved her learn major truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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 commenced creating and acting humor 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. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding her then will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
