The performer enters the video call and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside close companion the talented actress—would already know that she possesses a lot to discuss, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a high-school fight club. And, by the end the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more perspectives about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is a fan, citing it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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 inspiration for this project originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her grasp major truths, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on motherhood; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts about her then will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. This show avoids both, creating a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
