🔗 Share this article

The performer enters the video call and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she holds plenty to discuss, ranging from on gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Plus, after watching the new multi-episode show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally and new representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show depicting an emerging A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, 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 says. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that saw her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Individuals who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to manifested an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to produce a show about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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