🔗 Share this article

The performer enters the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to justify. “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!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott has plenty to discuss, whether about gender, relationships, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on concept went to Entourage, that show focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version 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 explains. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from her own, originally difficult, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her grasp major life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely fixated on having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who questioned regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it today. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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