The performer joins the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and appeared in alongside close companion the talented actress—would understand that Sennott possesses much to say, ranging from on gender, intimacy, or the pros of starting a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more insights on the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that program focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that saw her understand significant truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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 open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to create a program about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. This show does neither, creating a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
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 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
