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The performer joins the digital interview and at once starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, 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, that’s precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone who know the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with her friend the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott has a lot to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. Furthermore, after watching the latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more perspectives on the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and new representative Maia. However, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“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 personal, originally difficult, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Raised in Connecticut, the star began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who questioned about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). One might simple to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.

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