The performer enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—will already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, be it on identity, sex, or the appeal of forming a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish the new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her understand some big truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts about Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it today. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she shared content titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to create a program about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
