The performer enters the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely apologetic. She is only a bit behind, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she has plenty to share, ranging from about roles, sex, or the pros of starting a teen fight club. And, once you finish her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further perspectives regarding the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, that program depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose 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 concept for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, initially difficult, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her grasp significant truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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 Connecticut, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding her earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be easy to produce a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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 observes. “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
