The performer joins the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled 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!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott has plenty to say, be it on gender, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her latest seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge of the gang, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling representative Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for this project emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented an era that involved her grasp significant insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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?”
She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott then will surely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to create a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
