The actress and writer on her side-splitting series portraying that messy appeal of Gen Z life
The star joins the video call and at once starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott has a lot to say, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, by the end her new multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds further thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing the show in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for the project, which details the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest influence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, that show depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from her own, initially rocky, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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 Connecticut, the star began creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre 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. 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?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned about her previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted content called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
