The actress and writer on her hilarious comedy about the grotty allure of Gen Z existence
The performer enters the online meeting and right away begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. And, by the end her new seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional insights on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she represents a bridge for this generation, straddling eras skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, naming it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and new talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that included her learn major life lessons, 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing 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 says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely fixated on motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to created the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, making for a depiction of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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