The actress and writer discussing her uproarious series about that chaotic allure of today's youth life
The star appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding really apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she wants 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, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she holds a lot to discuss, be it on roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, by the end the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries further perspectives on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series came—in part—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn major insights, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content called on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers managing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to create a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of advantaged young adult existence that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
