The performer enters the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and featured in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—can understand that she possesses much to say, whether about identity, sex, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights on the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her learn some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star began writing and performing humor while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who questioned regarding her then will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to make a program about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. The series does neither, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
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 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
