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The star appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know the fearlessly openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she has plenty to discuss, ranging from on gender, sex, or the merits of forming a teen combat group. And, by the end her recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she has additional perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the travails of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and fledgling representative Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision went to Entourage, that show focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, at first difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented an era that included her understand significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a show about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.

Balanced Perspective

“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