The actress and writer discussing the side-splitting series portraying the messy allure of today's youth lifestyle
The performer joins the video call and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further insights on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the show depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided 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 concept for the series came—partly—from her own, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was a phase that included her learn major life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting humor while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned regarding her earlier will surely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the mess 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