The performer enters the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone familiar with her boldly queer and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she possesses plenty to share, whether about gender, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the program focusing on an emerging celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from personal, initially rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her learn some big insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting stand-up while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to make a show about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. This show does neither, creating a depiction of advantaged twentysomething living that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
