The star joins the digital interview and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott possesses a lot to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of forming a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her understand major life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “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.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might simple to produce a show about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she says. “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
