The actress and writer exploring her hilarious comedy portraying the messy glamour of younger generation existence
The star joins the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that she has plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. And, once you finish the latest eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—in part—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn significant insights, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about her then will surely be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could simple to create a program about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
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