The performer enters the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. She is only slightly late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she holds a lot to say, whether on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. And, after watching her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she has further insights about the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest influence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about an emerging celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked an era that saw her grasp major life lessons, 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 New England, Sennott started 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?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she has achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded content called on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could easy to make a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
