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The star joins the video call and immediately begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. She is only slightly behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—can already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. And, after watching the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional thoughts on the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. However, the largest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that show about a rising celebrity succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn significant truths, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Raised in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be regretting it currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could tempting to produce a program about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the mess and the shine.

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 observes. “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