Cylla Senii was born in Queens, NY, but was raised in Georgia. She always loved acting, writing and storytelling in general, and had dreams of becoming a filmmaker. These childhood dreams led her to eventually accomplishing her dreams in her own way — and her web series Situationships helped make that happen.

Senii went to the University of Georgia and majored in advertising with minors in film studies and theater. That led her to getting a job at Bobbcat Films after graduation. There, she was able to work on The Rickey Smiley Show, which gave her a behind-the-scenes look at what it meant to be a director, writer and more. But soon she realized that New York was her passion, so in 2014 she moved back home. She worked for Disney at Babble for a while as an editorial trainee, where she was able to copy edit and keep the site running smoothly. After that gig, she's found herself as a producer at Droga5. All of her experiences have propelled her steps closer to her lifelong dreams.

Why a web series?

And that journey leads us to Situationships — which is best described as "a smart and sexy dramedy exposing the twists and turns of millennial dating." And oh, are there twists and turns. The web series brings diverse casting and storylines to an easy-to-digest medium. You'll want to binge the entire first season in one day, trust me.

The beauty of a web series like this is that it allows creatives to put all of their skills to work right now, and to create their own opportunity.

"There's so much flexibility because you can make your own original content," says Senii, "People who are underrepresented can make their own content and put it out the the world to promote it themselves."

For Situationships, Senii enlisted a couple of friends who were great at marketing to brainstorm ways to zone in on the audience, find what interests them and engage with them.

Inspiration

Senii loves romantic comedies — in fact, her favorite is Hitch — and Situationships adds a millennial spin to the typical romcom format. She also loves everything Shonda Rhimes touches.

"I love that she is always giving underrepresented women in general the spotlight," she says, "I love what she's doing and that her casts are always so diverse. That inspired me, too."

As far as the storyline itself, Senii describes it as "rooted in truth but exaggerated."

In the fall/winter of 2014, she says her and her girlfriends had some terrible dating experiences. A friend of hers in her 20s was dating a guy in his 30s who never used a title. She left a pair of glasses at his house and when she went to pick them up another woman got off the train and said she was his girlfriend — in a scene that's reminiscent of the wild scene in episode one of Situationships. From those dating faux pas, Senii realized she had what she needed for a TV show, so she gathered stories and got to writing.

Multitasking

For Situationships, Senii wore many hats. She's not only one of the main characters, she's also a producer, director, writer and editor.

"I love every aspect," she says, "What supported me was my amazing team whom I can collaborate and build with. They allowed me to delegate certain tasks out so we can continue to build and keep a diverse and creative environment.

Although it was hard at times, Senii says overcoming the struggle it can be to just start something is essential. And for any aspiring filmmakers out there who are considering creating a web series?

"Just do it," she says, "There's a reason why that goal or dream was given to you. You need to put that out there for you and the public. Write your idea down, write all the steps that it will take to do that down, and then find the people to build with you."

Feedback and what's next

And so far, all the hard work from Senii and her team has paid off in the form of positive feedback.

"I'm so thankful," she said, "I've heard it compared to a millennial 'Sex And The City' by various news outlets, and people are interested in elevating it to the next level. A lot of people are saying they relate to the characters so much. Whether it's themselves or their friends, everyone has a story."

For the team, it's so rewarding to know that they've done it. Not only for themselves but also because people are enjoying the hard work that was put into it.

"It means so much that people are acknowledging and appreciating the work and are interested," Senii says.

"I don't think anyone is going to be ready for season two," she says, "It's not the storyline you'd expect. It's going to dig deeper. We've gone further with casting and showing different people, different sexualities, different demographics and deeper storylines."

We can't wait to see what season two will bring. If you haven't already, catch up on season one exclusively on Blavity here.

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