The star joins the video call and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone familiar with her boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she holds a lot to say, whether on identity, sex, or the appeal of creating a high-school fight club. And, by the end her new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional insights on the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that program focusing on an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for the series originated—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for followers. This represented a phase that included her learn major insights, work-wise and personally. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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 live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). Some could easy to make a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
