The star appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. Despite being only slightly delayed, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott holds a lot to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching her recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“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—in part—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that involved her grasp significant insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “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
Brought up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying performance 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.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will likely be regretting it now. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be simple to create a series about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. This show does neither, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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
