The actress and writer discussing the uproarious comedy about the grotty appeal of younger generation existence
The star joins the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. She is only a bit behind, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with her boldly openly gay and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that she penned with the director and featured in with collaborator the talented actress—will already know that she has a lot to share, ranging from on gender, sex, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights about the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative Maia. Perhaps, the largest spot on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, 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 says. The idea for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, move to LA and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and posting hysterical (and very) bizarre online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might simple to produce a program about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
