The performer appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming really regretful. She is only slightly late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know her fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she has much to discuss, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching her new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. However, the biggest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose 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 concept for this project came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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 …”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “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?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her then will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a series about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
