The star enters the video call and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with close companion the talented actress—will already know that Sennott has a lot to share, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a high-school fight club. Furthermore, after watching the latest seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts on the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, the show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, initially difficult, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a time that involved her learn some big insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “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 …”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “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 amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely obsessed with having babies; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned about Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it today. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the grot 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
