The actress and writer on her side-splitting series portraying that grotty appeal of today's youth lifestyle

The star enters the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only slightly late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” 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 encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she holds plenty to say, ranging from on gender, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further perspectives regarding the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the largest influence on concept went to Entourage, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that included her understand significant insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She seized control, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Individuals who had doubts regarding her then will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a clip called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). One might simple to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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

Michele Lee
Michele Lee

Elena is a tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for creating accessible tools that simplify everyday life.