The actress and writer discussing her uproarious comedy depicting the messy appeal of Gen Z existence
The star appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, be it about identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. And, after watching the latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more insights on the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—partly—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a time that included her understand some big insights, work-wise and individually. “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 …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “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.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content called “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a program about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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