The performer appears on the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly regretful. She is only a bit late, 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, for a writer, that’s just what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and appeared in with her friend the talented actress—would understand that she holds plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott is a fan, citing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version 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 notes. The concept for the series came—to some extent—from firsthand, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a time that saw her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying acting 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.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to create a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
