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The performer enters the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding really regretful. She is only a bit behind, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen her unapologetically queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—would understand that Sennott has a lot to discuss, be it about roles, intimacy, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. And, after watching the new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional insights about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is a fan, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom about an emerging celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a time that saw her learn major insights, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”

She decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a video titled on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to make a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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