The performer joins the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she penned with the director and starred in alongside her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses much to discuss, whether on gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching her latest seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further insights regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The concept for this project came—partly—from personal, originally fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her grasp major life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “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.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) weird skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely obsessed with motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts about her then will likely be feeling foolish today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might tempting to create a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a portrait of privileged millennial existence that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
