Jaya Beach-Robertson and Aria Dehar are the talented team behind the New Zealand (and decidedly NSFW) web series PSUSY.
Photo: Facebook
Even though her male friends insist on saying 'pa-sussy', It's pronounced 'pussy', Jaya tells Bryan Crump.
"I'm like 'actually, no. It was a marketing decision. You can say the word 'pussy'. It's alright'."
Jay and Aria (who play Karen and Sharee in the show) first met as wine telemarketers.
"We were the people who called you up in the middle of the night and went 'Kia ora, would you like a case of sav today? Oh, no. You don't? … Bye'" Jaya says.
Jaya was then an aspiring actor experimenting with writing something that reflected herself and the women she knew.
"There's such a spectrum of women and such a small percentage of the multifaceted people we can be are represented in media."
She wanted to work with someone who wasn't "cookie-cutter white girl" and her co-worker Aria was unique and funny.
Aria's first scene for PSUSY (and first-ever acting experience) involved using a grapefruit as a sex toy – "I can't believe she's still here".
The pair collaborate on script ideas and Jaya does the writing.
The imperfect lead characters Abby and Ilana in Comedy Central show Broad City were a huge influence, Jaya says.
To her surprise, men have been relating to the show and finding it funny.
"They are like 'This is really gross and weird and I like it'.
The pair hope to get funding and international distribution for the third series of PSUSY and extend its 5-minute episodes to 10 or 25 minutes.
"Aria's got a trove of experiences that have not been tapped yet so I don't think we'll be running out anytime soon" Jaya says.
Watch PSUSY on YouTube here:
