The star appears on the digital interview and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she has much to share, be it about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. And, after watching the new eight-part show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new talent manager Maia. However, the biggest presence on concept went to the HBO series, the show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 came—partly—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn major truths, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, the star began writing and performing humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film 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, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
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
