The performer joins the video call and at once launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott has a lot to share, ranging from about roles, sex, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new talent manager Maia. However, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that program about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for the series came—partly—from her own, originally fractious, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her grasp significant insights, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” 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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content titled on LA life on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s candid 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
