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The performer joins the video call and right away begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she holds a lot to discuss, be it about roles, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school fight club. And, once you finish her new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more insights on the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting different age groups).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Growing up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing comedy while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) unconventional skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely obsessed with motherhood; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Manifesting Dreams

Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott then will certainly be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). One might tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.

Nuanced Portrayal

“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