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The star enters the video call and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she possesses a lot to say, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth combat group. And, once you finish the latest seasonal program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has further insights regarding the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging different age groups).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on creative vision belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her learn significant truths, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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.”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who had doubts about her then will surely be regretting it currently. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could easy to produce a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the mess 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