The star joins the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone who know the unapologetically queer and brash movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she holds plenty to share, be it on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Plus, by the end her recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more thoughts about the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the show depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version 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 idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a time that included her understand major life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and uploading uproarious (and very) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about Sennott then will certainly be regretting it now. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to produce a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
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
