The actress and writer discussing the side-splitting show about that messy appeal of today's youth lifestyle
The star appears on the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know her unapologetically queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she has much to say, be it about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a teen fight club. And, once you finish the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more insights about the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show together with the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new talent manager Maia. However, the most significant influence on creative vision went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided 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 explains. The idea for this project originated—in part—from her own, initially difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that involved her understand major insights, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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 New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in 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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could tempting to create a program about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s frank 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