The star enters the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “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, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. Plus, after watching the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the program focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her understand some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “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.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could tempting to create a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, making for a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
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
