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The performer enters the online meeting and immediately begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really apologetic. Although she's only slightly 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!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott has much to discuss, ranging from on gender, intimacy, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Plus, by the end her recent seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for the series emerged—partly—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that involved her grasp major truths, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video named on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to make a program about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a depiction of advantaged twentysomething life that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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