The actress and writer exploring the hilarious series depicting the messy appeal of today's youth existence
The performer joins the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. She is only a bit behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Those who know her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she possesses plenty to say, be it about roles, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her new seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, naming the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for the project, which details the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for this project emerged—to some extent—from personal, originally rocky, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was a time that involved her understand major life lessons, professionally and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “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.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with her friend and sharing hysterical (and very) weird skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she posted content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
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 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