The performer enters the video call and at once begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes 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!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen her unapologetically queer and brash film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—will understand that she possesses much to share, be it about roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a teen brawl society. And, once you finish the new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further insights on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the program focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, at first fractious, transition to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her understand significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). One might tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
