The star joins the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in together with collaborator the talented actress—will already know that she possesses a lot to share, be it on identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. And, by the end the new seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more thoughts on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“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 came—in part—from personal, originally rocky, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a time that included her understand some big insights, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, the star started writing and performing humor while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. This show avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
