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The performer enters the digital interview and right away begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she has plenty to share, whether about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a teen combat group. Plus, after watching the latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for Entourage, that show focusing on a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—partly—from her own, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “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.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared content named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a program about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial life that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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