The performer appears on the video call and right away begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, whether on identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. And, by the end the new seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has additional perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she is an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 concept for the series emerged—in part—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented a phase that involved her understand some big truths, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began creating and acting stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to make a show about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series does neither, creating a depiction of affluent young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she comments. “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
