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The star enters the video call and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, 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!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she has a lot to say, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. And, once you finish her recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more perspectives regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show together with the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, the program depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist 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 notes. The inspiration for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her learn significant truths, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in the East Coast, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and very) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will likely be feeling foolish today. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might easy to produce a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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