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The performer enters the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with her friend the talented actress—can be aware that she has a lot to share, be it about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. And, by the end her new multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging both generations).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Raised in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who had doubts regarding her then will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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