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The star appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott has much to share, be it about gender, sex, or the pros of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish the new eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further insights about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for the series emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for followers. That period marked a time that saw her understand some big insights, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “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 Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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?”

She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts about Sennott then will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to produce a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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