The actress and writer exploring her uproarious comedy depicting the messy appeal of Gen Z life
The performer joins the digital interview and right away launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who know her boldly openly gay and brash project Bottoms—which she penned with the director and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she has much to share, whether about identity, sex, or the appeal of forming a teen brawl society. And, once you finish the latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the program depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for this project originated—in part—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for followers. That period marked a phase that involved her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started writing and performing humor while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with having babies; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be simple to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
