The performer appears on the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she holds plenty to say, be it about roles, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen fight club. Plus, once you finish her latest multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, that show about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that included her understand some big insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing humor while studying performance 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 says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) unconventional online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might simple to create a program about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
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
