The performer joins the digital interview and right away begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, be it about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish her new seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional insights about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging both generations).
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally and aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a phase that included her understand some big insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Brought up in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will surely be regretting it today. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to make a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
A tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and sharing practical insights.
