The performer appears on the online meeting and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming really regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s just what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and brash film titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott has a lot to say, ranging from on identity, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has further insights on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new agent Maia. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept went to Entourage, that show about an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for the series came—partly—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her grasp some big truths, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting humor while studying 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing 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 thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to create a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. This show does neither, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
