The performer appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—will already know that she holds much to share, whether about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a teen fight club. Plus, after watching the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved 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 notes. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially fractious, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her learn some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females fetishistically fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about her earlier will surely be regretting it now. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she shared content named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to produce a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged twentysomething life that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
