The performer appears on the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in with her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses a lot to share, whether on roles, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional perspectives on the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant influence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist 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 the series emerged—in part—from personal, at first rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented an era that involved her understand significant insights, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about her earlier will likely be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of advantaged millennial living that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
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
