The performer appears on the digital interview and right away begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that she holds plenty to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching the new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more insights about the darker side of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager Maia. However, the biggest spot on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the show depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for this project emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her learn some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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 sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted content named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to make a program about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
