The performer enters the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming really apologetic. Despite being only slightly late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Those who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she penned with the director and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott holds much to share, be it about identity, intimacy, or the pros of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching her latest seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further thoughts on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling representative Maia. However, the most significant presence on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her understand significant truths, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she posted a video titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to make a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
