The performer enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it on roles, sex, or the merits of creating a youth fight club. And, after watching the new seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for this project emerged—in part—from her own, at first difficult, transition to LA and from her saturn return, a popular event for followers. That period marked an era that involved her learn major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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 took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned about her earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video titled on LA life online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
