The actress and writer discussing the uproarious comedy depicting that chaotic allure of Gen Z life
The star joins the video call and right away starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she wants 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!” Luckily, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who know her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with the director and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a high-school combat group. And, by the end the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, that show focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 this project originated—to some extent—from personal, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was an era that saw her learn some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while enrolled in 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 explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might simple to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. The series does neither, resulting in a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s honest about the grot 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 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