The performer enters the digital interview and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding really regretful. She is only a bit late, she wants to clarify. “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!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott holds a lot to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school combat group. And, after watching her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, naming it alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the program depicting a rising celebrity making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version 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 concept for the series came—to some extent—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that saw her learn some big insights, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be kicking themselves now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded content titled on LA life online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to make a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. The series does neither, resulting in a portrait of affluent young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
