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The star appears on the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—can already know that she has plenty to say, ranging from on gender, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. And, once you finish her new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more thoughts about the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Influences and Creative Vision

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging Hollywood star navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA originated—in part—from her own, originally fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that included her understand major life lessons, in her career 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “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. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to produce a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of privileged young adult living that’s candid about the grot 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