The star joins the online meeting and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “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!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she holds much to discuss, be it on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. And, once you finish her recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for the series came—partly—from personal, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her understand significant life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to make a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
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 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
