Actor Chloe Bayliss has been on more than her fair share of first dates — and some of them left a lot to be desired, quite literally.
"I have a lot of horrendous dating stories [from] throughout my 20s," Bayliss told ABC News.
"Because they were so wild and outrageous, I just thought, 'Oh, God, I must be the only person [who] has ever gone through this stuff.'"
Bayliss quickly discovered though that she was not alone.
"When I started talking to all of my friends about their experiences online, the stories just got worse and worse, or more wild or more funny, or more outrageous.
"And so, I thought, 'I've got to do something with this.'"
The result is a new series called Next, in which Bayliss is the lead actor and producer. It's currently rolling out exclusively on TikTok.
Bayliss teamed up with director Ruby Challenger, who she also worked with on MumLife, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
In Next, Bayliss stars as "alpha female" Amy, who suddenly finds herself single.
The dates she goes on are legendary and include an axe-throwing one at Maniax, in which her date admits there might be a lag between the first date and a second … because he's about to go to prison.
That scenario and many others in Next are inspired by the real-life dating stories Bayliss collated from her friends and from the cast and crew behind the show.
The cast also stars Matt Castley as Amy's "Deadsh*t" ex.
Doctor Doctor fans will know the two played husband and wife for five seasons on the Nine Network program.
Tasneem Roc (from the original Heartbreak High) play's Amy's boss.
Why TikTok?
The creative team behind the series chose TikTok as their preferred medium to release the program because it's instantaneous and that's where audiences are heading.
Next isn't the only show to roll out on social media, either.
The Katering Show — picked up by the ABC — began on YouTube.
Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee began as a web series before moving to Netflix.
The chat show Red Table Talk streams exclusively on Facebook, and HBO's Insecure is based on the YouTube series Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae.
"We just want to work and we want to create," Bayliss said, saying things slowed down dramatically during the pandemic.
"And we thought TikTok was a really great platform to do that and to be able to get our work out and seen straightaway as opposed to waiting for a long time to try to get funding."
In fact, the filmmakers made Next with just $2,000 of their own money, with the cast and crew working for free.
"We've done this on zero budget," Bayliss said.
"And we've been able to create this show with a cast and crew of about 40 people. And those 40 people have all come on and volunteered their time because they loved the script so much.
"So that's, I think, a testament to creatives, and especially after COVID times, of how much creative people just want to work and want to tell stories and share that with the world."
Bayliss said Screen Australia provides funding for people to create content for TikTok, an option for future projects.
"For us, we didn't go for funding because, sometimes, it can take a really long time and we just wanted to make this first because, sometimes, it's better to show them what you've done, therefore you're a better candidate for funding in the future."
There'll be 20 episodes — ranging from one to three minutes in length, released every two days — after the first three episodes go out today.
Bayliss — who is also a dance teacher and choreographer and author of the memoir En Pointe — has put her days of bad dates behind her.
She's due to get married this year.
"I don't want to diss online dating at all," Bayliss said.
"I think it's a really good opportunity to meet people [who] are outside of your circles.
"But it can be exhausting.
"And I'm very happy that I've finally found love and I don't have to keep going on that train."
Next is currently rolling out exclusively on TikTok
