The actress and writer exploring the side-splitting show depicting the messy glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly queer and brash movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and appeared in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—would already know that she holds much to say, be it on identity, sex, or the merits of starting a high-school fight club. And, by the end her latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further thoughts regarding the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling representative Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star began writing and performing humor while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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 seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical about her previously will surely be regretting it now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to produce a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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