The star joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding genuinely apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she holds plenty to share, be it about gender, sex, or the pros of creating a teen combat group. Plus, after watching the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further thoughts on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, citing the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star started creating and acting stand-up while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively fixated on having babies; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded content titled on LA life on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be simple to create a series about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething living that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
