The star enters the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and featured in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her understand some big truths, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing acting 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. 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.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned about Sennott then will likely be regretting it now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a video titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to make a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a depiction of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
