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The performer enters the online meeting and at once starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding really regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “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, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—will already know that she possesses much to say, whether about identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. And, after watching the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for bridging both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it together with Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. That period marked an era that involved her learn major truths, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers managing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). One might simple to produce a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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