The star joins the digital interview and right away launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott holds much to discuss, whether about identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. And, once you finish the latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts about the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that program depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her learn significant insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
