The star enters the online meeting and immediately begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she has plenty to say, whether about roles, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. Plus, by the end her recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has further thoughts about the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on concept was reserved for the HBO series, that program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version 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 explains. The idea for the series emerged—in part—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented a time that involved her grasp significant truths, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “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 …”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced developing and showcasing 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. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will likely be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, creating a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
