The actress and writer exploring her side-splitting comedy portraying the messy allure of younger generation life
The star enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she penned with the director and featured in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to say, whether on gender, sex, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. And, after watching her recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is a fan, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the show depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version 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 explains. The inspiration for the series originated—partly—from her own, at first rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her understand significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star commenced writing and performing humor while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned about her then will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video titled on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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