The actress and writer discussing the uproarious comedy about that grotty glamour of Gen Z existence
The star enters the video call and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott has plenty to share, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen fight club. Plus, after watching the latest seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more perspectives regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, the show focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—in part—from firsthand, initially rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. This represented a phase that involved her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will likely be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she posted content titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might easy to make a program about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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
