The star joins the video call and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding really regretful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know the fearlessly queer and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott possesses much to share, whether about roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for her series, which details the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, that program depicting a rising A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for the series originated—partly—from personal, initially difficult, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn some big insights, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted content named on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be simple to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
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
