The performer joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly regretful. She is only slightly late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott has much to discuss, ranging from about gender, sex, or the pros of creating a teen combat group. And, once you finish her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional thoughts about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 this project originated—in part—from her own, initially fractious, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. It was an era that involved her learn major truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). Some could simple to create a program about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a representation of affluent millennial life that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
