The star joins the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming really apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she possesses much to discuss, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. Plus, once you finish her latest seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds even more thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the program depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from personal, originally rocky, move to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that included her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content named on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
