The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—can already know that Sennott has plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. And, by the end the latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular event for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her understand significant truths, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
