The performer joins the digital interview and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those familiar with the boldly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott possesses a lot to say, whether on gender, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more perspectives regarding the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from personal, at first fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her learn major truths, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves currently. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be simple to make a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
