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The performer enters the video call and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming really regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she has plenty to share, whether about identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional insights regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the largest presence on concept went to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was a phase that involved her learn some big insights, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video titled on LA life online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, creating a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

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 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