The star joins the video call and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. And, after watching the recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional insights on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on concept went to Entourage, that show focusing on an emerging celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved 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 the series came—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a time that included her understand significant insights, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while pursuing acting 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.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a video named on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of advantaged twentysomething life that’s honest about the mess 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
