The actress and writer on the side-splitting show depicting that grotty glamour of today's youth existence
The star appears on the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott possesses a lot to share, whether about gender, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth brawl society. And, by the end her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more insights on the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant influence on creative vision went to Entourage, the show about a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was a phase that involved her understand major insights, work-wise 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and very) weird skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about her then will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to make a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
