The performer appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside close companion the talented actress—can understand that she holds a lot to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. And, by the end her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the largest spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“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 came—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her understand significant truths, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she posted content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to create a series about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
