Experiencing Interruptions?

Could be Worse

Three best friends - Aya, Max, and Christie - navigate the absurdities of everyday life in LA, trying to make it in entertainment - without losing their cool or each other.

  • Dylan Skolnik
    Director
  • Ariana Parsa
    Director
  • Valerie Marienko
    Director
  • Dylan Skolnik
    Writer
  • Ariana Parsa
    Writer
  • Valerie Marienko
    Writer
  • Dylan Skolnik
    Producer
  • Ariana Parsa
    Producer
  • Valerie Marienko
    Producer
  • Dylan Skolnik
    Key Cast
    "Max"
  • Ariana Parsa
    Key Cast
    "Aya"
  • Valerie Marienko
    Key Cast
    "Christie"
  • Keanu Damon
    Key Cast
    "Derek"
  • Eumin Lee
    Key Cast
    "Lisa"
  • Project Type:
    Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Dramedy
  • Runtime:
    57 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 11, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Dylan Skolnik, Ariana Parsa, Valerie Marienko

Ariana, Dylan, and Valerie are three friends in Los Angeles who met in acting class. They are the co-creators of Could be Worse.

Ariana Parsa recently executive-produced and acted in two Joe Swanberg films with stars such as Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson, and wrote & directed her own short film, "Chingu? Doost". She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at USC and built a career in PR at NBCUniversal before being pulled to pursue her great love for comedy.

Dylan Skolnik is a UCLA Film alum and founder of Sleeping Dad Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company specializing in scripted content and branded storytelling. With a passion for comedy and storytelling, Dylan enjoyed making YouTube videos with friends from a young age and is an avid TV and film fanatic. After working in entertainment at MGM, Lionsgate, and Live Nation, he has set out to create his own narrative as a multi-hyphenate talent.

Valerie Marienko is a Ukrainian actress, model, and producer. She regularly works as a commercial actress across the globe for brands such as Samsung, Vodafone, & Renault. Valerie has a psychology degree, which helps her find humanity in her projects. After creating her first short "But Happy" in Ukraine in 2018, she moved to LA to pursue her dreams as an actress and filmmaker.

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Director Statement

"Could Be Worse" is a 6-episode comedic web series (~56 min total). All episodes are available on YouTube — programmers are encouraged to watch the full series at our YouTube channel (linked as our website).

While "Could be Worse" is rooted in our lived experiences navigating the entertainment industry in LA, the relationships between characters are what allow the show to reach demographics beyond just those familiar with the entertainment industry.

For Valerie (who plays Christie), as a Ukrainian actress who moved to LA just before the war, she is always living between two worlds. In "Could be Worse," she wanted to show the truthful chaos behind the perfect image entertainers portray online and on set. The story is inspired by the pressure many immigrants feel to succeed quickly in a new country, and the expectations from family back home that don't understand them anymore. In the show, her character struggles to stay focused on her goals as her Babushka calls every day asking when she will settle down, while directors, love interests, and OnlyFans subscribers clutter her inbox. We wanted to show that feeling of everything seeming good on the surface, but deep down it's an overwhelming mess.

As a Persian-American, Ariana (who plays Aya), wanted to highlight the realities of choosing to pursue a career in the arts in a more traditional family with high expectations and an aversion to taking the path less traveled. In the show, her character turns her back to the family business and decides to put faith in herself — something that many Persian parents can't understand. Ariana also wanted to capture the psyche of many young girls who are trying to pursue careers in entertainment but don't fit the stereotypical Western standards for beauty. Her character is faced with this daily, as she only gets cast in "sidekick" or "funny friend" roles — never the lead.

For Dylan (who plays Max), a Jewish-American whose role models include Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Woody Allen, etc, he's always trying to find the humor behind the everyday nuances and idiosyncrasies of modern society. In "Could be Worse," Max's journey becomes one of self-discovery and resilience, as he balances the need to pay rent through his "Plan B" while prioritizing his "Plan A" of being an indie filmmaker. Dylan wanted to focus on the theme of constant rejection, whether it be by producers, women, or the city as a whole, and the old adage, "don't quit your day job until your night job pays."

In terms of the cinematography and style, the entire series was shot handheld in order to capture the instability of the characters' lives and physically show their anxiety and hope. We used a mix of frenetic and static shots to make the piece feel more alive — inspired by Adolescence and The Studio.

Creatively, our mission is to use comedy as a lens to capture stories that are human, because there is no humanity without humor. After all, laughter is the universal language. Through Max, Aya, and Christie, we hope audiences recognize their own challenges and root for these characters as they chase something bigger than themselves.