🔗 Share this article

The star appears on the online meeting and at once begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would understand that she holds much to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Plus, after watching the new eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds even more insights about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about a rising A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided 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 concept for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was a time that included her learn significant life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up 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. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who questioned about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to make a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of privileged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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