The performer enters the digital interview and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she holds plenty to share, be it about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth combat group. And, by the end her latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 inspiration for the series originated—partly—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her grasp some big truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could tempting to produce a program about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult life that’s candid 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
