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The performer joins the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she has much to say, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. And, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional insights on the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the show about a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 says. The inspiration for the series came—in part—from her own, at first rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her learn major life lessons, professionally and personally. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Raised in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy 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 explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who questioned about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to make a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a representation of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“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