The actress and writer exploring her hilarious show about that grotty appeal of younger generation lifestyle
The performer appears on the digital interview and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “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, for a writer, this is exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those familiar with her boldly openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she penned with the director and appeared in with close companion the talented actress—will understand that she holds plenty to share, ranging from about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, naming it together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for her series, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting an emerging Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for this project originated—in part—from personal, initially fractious, move to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was an era that saw her grasp major insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) weird skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to create a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“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
