The star joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds much to say, be it on identity, intimacy, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish her latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further insights regarding the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, citing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the program focusing on a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her learn some big life lessons, work-wise 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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts about her then will certainly be regretting it now. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
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
