The actress and writer on the hilarious series portraying the chaotic glamour of Gen Z life
The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming truly apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes 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!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in with her friend the talented actress—would be aware that she has a lot to discuss, ranging from about roles, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. And, by the end the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for the series emerged—in part—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her understand major insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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 decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded content called on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to make a program about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
