The star joins the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, 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, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching her recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries even more insights on the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant influence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 idea for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was a time that saw her learn some big insights, in her career and in private life. “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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will certainly be regretting it today. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a clip named on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
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
