The actress and writer discussing the uproarious comedy portraying the grotty glamour of younger generation lifestyle
The star joins the video call and immediately begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, this is just what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her boldly queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, be it on roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a high-school brawl society. And, by the end the new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that program focusing on an emerging celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that included her learn significant life lessons, in her career and personally. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about her then will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could simple to produce a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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