The actress and writer on the hilarious comedy about that grotty allure of younger generation existence
The performer enters the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing truly apologetic. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with her boldly queer and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the appeal of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her new seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further insights on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she represents a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the largest influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, that show depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for the series emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first difficult, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that involved her learn significant insights, work-wise and personally. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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 took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she posted a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to make a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of affluent twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
