The performer appears on the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in alongside her friend the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott possesses much to say, be it on identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. And, by the end her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is a bridge for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is a fan, naming it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest spot on concept belonged to the HBO series, the program depicting an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for this project emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her grasp significant insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing humor while enrolled in performance 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.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) weird skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content called on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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
