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The star enters the online meeting and at once starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen her unapologetically queer and brash project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott has plenty to say, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school fight club. Plus, by the end the recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries further insights regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, initially difficult, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre 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. 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, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to make a program about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“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