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The star enters the video call and right away begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Those familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she holds a lot to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. Plus, by the end her recent multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).

Influences and Artistic Direction

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing it in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for her series, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that show focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, 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 concept for the series originated—partly—from personal, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented a time that included her grasp some big insights, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Brought up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively drawn to having babies; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a series about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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