The actress and writer discussing her hilarious series portraying the chaotic appeal of Gen Z life
The performer joins the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. She is only slightly late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and brash project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds a lot to share, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. Furthermore, after watching the latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further insights regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the biggest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the show depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The inspiration for the series emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her understand major insights, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip named on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
