The performer enters the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing truly remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those familiar with her boldly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott has a lot to discuss, be it about identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. And, by the end the latest seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project originated—in part—from personal, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was an era that saw her grasp some big insights, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing 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. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a clip called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents juggling benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). Some could tempting to create a series about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
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 says. “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
