The performer enters the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott possesses a lot to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a teen brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist 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 inspiration for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, at first difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. That period marked a phase that saw her learn significant truths, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might simple to produce a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
