The performer appears on the video call and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those who know her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott has plenty to share, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. And, once you finish her new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further perspectives about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, naming the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest spot on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the program about a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, 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 says. The idea for this project emerged—in part—from her own, initially rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. This represented an era that saw her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to create a program about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s frank 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
