The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that she has plenty to discuss, ranging from on gender, sex, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has further insights on the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for the series came—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. This represented a phase that saw her learn significant life lessons, professionally 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.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “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 seized control, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she shared content named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be easy to create a series about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
