The performer joins the video call and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding really regretful. She is only slightly behind, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in together with close companion the talented actress—would understand that she possesses much to say, be it about identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 explains. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from firsthand, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing humor while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“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
