The comedic talent on her hilarious series about that grotty allure of Gen Z existence
The star appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds much to discuss, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the biggest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, that program about a rising A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for the series came—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, the star started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content titled on LA life online, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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