The actress and writer exploring the hilarious series portraying that grotty allure of today's youth existence

The performer appears on the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can already know that she has a lot to say, whether on identity, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. And, once you finish her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional perspectives about the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she is a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for bridging different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Creative Vision

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, originally fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a time that involved her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Raised in New England, the star commenced creating and acting humor while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on having babies; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be easy to create a show about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.

Balanced Perspective

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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

Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul

A tech enthusiast and reviewer with over a decade of experience covering consumer electronics and emerging technologies across the UK market.