The actress and writer discussing the uproarious comedy about the messy appeal of Gen Z lifestyle
The star appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her boldly queer and brash project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend the talented actress—will already know that she has a lot to share, whether about gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. And, after watching her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has further insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, naming the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the program focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—partly—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented a phase that saw her understand some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; another portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has created an ideal role. In 2019 she shared content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to create a program about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
