The actress and writer on her uproarious series depicting that grotty glamour of Gen Z life
The performer enters the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone who have seen the boldly openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she has plenty to say, be it about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end her latest multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more insights on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a bridge of the gang, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was a phase that included her grasp major truths, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, the star started writing and performing humor 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) unconventional online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to make a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series does neither, creating a depiction of affluent young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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