The star joins the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—would already know that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. And, once you finish the new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional insights about the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and new representative Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her learn major truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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 decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about her then will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted content named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to make a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess 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 says. “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
