The performer joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—will already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, whether on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. And, after watching her new eight-part show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has further perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 idea for I Love LA came—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that included her learn some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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, the star began writing and performing stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be simple to make a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
