The star appears on the digital interview and right away begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she wants 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!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she holds a lot to say, whether about identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. And, by the end her latest seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also new representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for the series originated—partly—from personal, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her learn major truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, 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 says, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content named on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be easy to produce a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
