The star enters the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming really remorseful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she wants 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!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly queer and brash film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will understand that she possesses much to say, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school fight club. And, by the end her new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further insights on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, the show about a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her understand some big insights, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “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
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and very) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to make a show about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
