The actress and writer discussing her uproarious series about the messy appeal of Gen Z life
The performer enters the digital interview and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is 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, for a writer, this is exactly what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Viewers familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott possesses much to discuss, ranging from about roles, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. And, after watching her recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more insights about the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally and new representative Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that show about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series emerged—in part—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. It was a phase that included her grasp major insights, professionally 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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively drawn to having babies; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will surely be feeling foolish today. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to create a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
