The comedic talent exploring the uproarious show portraying the grotty glamour of younger generation lifestyle
The star enters the online meeting and at once begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing truly regretful. She is only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she holds a lot to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of starting a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds further perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that program depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for the series emerged—in part—from personal, at first fractious, transition to LA and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that involved her learn significant truths, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted content called on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a representation of affluent young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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