The actress and writer exploring her side-splitting comedy about the chaotic allure of today's youth existence

The star enters the video call and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and featured in together with collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott holds plenty to say, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. And, once you finish her new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has further insights on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the show depicting a rising Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for this project originated—in part—from her own, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her grasp significant insights, professionally and in private life. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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 decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who questioned about Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be tempting to make a program about online fame that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.

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

Cynthia Stone
Cynthia Stone

Lena is a writer and urban enthusiast exploring city life and community connections.