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The star joins the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who know her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she holds a lot to say, ranging from on gender, sex, or the appeal of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her new seasonal program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom about an emerging Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her learn significant life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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