The comedic talent discussing the uproarious series portraying that grotty glamour of today's youth existence
The performer appears on the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott has a lot to say, be it on identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish her new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a time that involved her learn some big insights, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) unconventional skits online. One, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to having babies; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded a clip called on LA life on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could simple to produce a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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