The performer joins the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding really remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, 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, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott has plenty to discuss, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end her new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional perspectives regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. That period marked an era that saw her understand significant truths, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be simple to produce a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the chaos 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
