The star appears on the video call and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Viewers familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she holds much to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, by the end the recent multi-episode show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is an admirer, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. It was a time that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star began writing and performing comedy while studying performance 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and posting hysterical (and very) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
