The performer joins the online meeting and right away begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled 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!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who know the boldly queer and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott holds much to discuss, ranging from on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has further thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is a fan, citing the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the show about an emerging celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her learn significant insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott then will certainly be regretting it now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she shared a video titled on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
