The star appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and appeared in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she has plenty to discuss, whether about roles, sex, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. And, by the end the recent multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more insights on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it alongside the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, that program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for the series came—to some extent—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to make a series about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
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
