The comedic talent discussing her hilarious series about the chaotic appeal of Gen Z life
The star enters the video call and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses much to share, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents a bridge of the gang, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for the project, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The idea for I Love LA came—in part—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her understand major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a video called about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to make a show about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest 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 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