🔗 Share this article

The performer enters the online meeting and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really apologetic. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds a lot to say, whether on gender, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. And, after watching the recent seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom about a rising A-list actor making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, originally rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her understand significant life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Starting Out

Raised in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

She seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who were skeptical about her earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she has created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to produce a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial living that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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