The actress and writer exploring her side-splitting series about the messy appeal of Gen Z life
The performer appears on the online meeting and immediately starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only slightly behind, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she has plenty to share, whether about identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school fight club. Plus, after watching the recent multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional perspectives about the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the most significant presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show about an emerging celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for this project originated—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was a time that saw her understand significant insights, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about her then will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she shared content named on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to make a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. The series does neither, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
