The performer joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—can be aware that she holds a lot to share, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen fight club. Plus, by the end her recent eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, referencing the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, 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 idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts about her previously will certainly be regretting it today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
