The star appears on the video call and right away begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. She is only slightly late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses much to say, whether on roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth fight club. Plus, once you finish her latest seasonal program I Love LA, it is clear that she has further perspectives regarding the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is a bridge for this generation, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the show depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her learn some big insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy 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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting hysterical (and very) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to achieved an ideal role. A few years back she posted a clip 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 a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to make a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
