The actress and writer discussing her hilarious comedy depicting the grotty allure of Gen Z life
The star appears on the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott possesses plenty to say, be it on gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. And, after watching her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is a fan, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager Maia. However, the biggest presence on concept belonged to Entourage, the show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 inspiration for this project came—partly—from personal, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a time that involved her learn significant insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, the star began creating and acting humor while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content called on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to make a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she says. “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