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The performer appears on the video call and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who know the boldly openly gay and brash movie Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—would understand that she possesses a lot to discuss, be it about identity, intimacy, or the merits of forming a youth combat group. And, after watching the recent eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further insights on the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).

Influences and Creative Vision

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest spot on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 came—partly—from personal, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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…”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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 seized control, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a program about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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