The comedic talent on her uproarious series about the chaotic allure of today's youth life
The star joins the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to justify. “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, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she possesses much to discuss, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her recent eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved 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 explains. The idea for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, at first difficult, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that included her grasp some big insights, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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 Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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