The performer enters the digital interview and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes 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!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would already know that she possesses plenty to say, ranging from about gender, sex, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. And, after watching the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—partly—from firsthand, at first difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that involved her grasp significant truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content named on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky pariah). It would be easy to produce a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
