The performer joins the video call and at once begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. She is only slightly late, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she has plenty to say, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end the latest seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the largest spot on concept went to the HBO series, that program about an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first difficult, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a phase that saw her grasp major insights, work-wise 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
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be simple to make a program about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
