The performer joins the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to say, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. Plus, after watching her latest seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional thoughts regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for the series came—to some extent—from personal, at first fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her learn significant truths, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a video titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
