The performer enters the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish the latest eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is a fan, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, at first rocky, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her learn some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she shared content named on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
