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The star appears on the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in with close companion the talented actress—can already know that she possesses plenty to say, ranging from on roles, sex, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more thoughts on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The inspiration for this project originated—partly—from personal, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that included her learn some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “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.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) weird online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video titled on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). One might tempting to create a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“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