The comedic talent discussing her hilarious series depicting the grotty appeal of today's youth lifestyle
The performer appears on the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she possesses plenty to say, be it about identity, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her latest multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version 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 explains. The concept for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, originally fractious, move to LA and from her saturn return, a popular phenomenon for followers. That period marked an era that saw her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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 decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on having babies; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about her then will certainly be regretting it now. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged 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