The star joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. And, after watching her new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—in part—from her own, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that included her grasp significant truths, professionally and in private life. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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 seized control, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned about Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be tempting to produce a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
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 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
