The performer enters the online meeting and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who know her boldly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds much to discuss, whether on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. And, after watching her new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional insights about the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new representative Maia. However, the biggest spot on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the show focusing on a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 came—partly—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her understand major truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits online. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it today. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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