Written and directed by Daryn Strauss, the web series ‘Downsized’ starring two Turkish-American actresses in leading roles in a plot that tells the story of average Americans coping with debt, credit default, bankruptcy, immigration and unemployment

Average Americans are the subjects of the hit dramedy “Downsized,” a timely online series that was recently named “The best of the straight dramas [on the web]” by the Los Angeles Times.

The show takes place in New York City and features two Turkish-American characters, Leyla and her sister Dünya.

When she was a junior in high school, when everyone was sending out college applications, she knew all she wanted to do was design.  Teachers always taught them to apply to as many colleges as possible. She only applied to one; it was The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.  It didn't concern her that there was a chance she would not get accepted and she didn't have a back up plan.  

So, after months of anticipating the acceptance letter, she received the rejection letter.  She went to the school to see if she could talk to the dean of fashion design.  There was nothing he could do to admit her that semester, but he recommended she would take courses at the school to build her portfolio.

After a couple of courses her drawing had improved dramatically.  She put together a new and improved portfolio and submitted it the next semester.

She continued her courses at F.I.T. and anticipated that acceptance letter once again. She wasn't sure if she could take another rejection.  If she didn't get accepted this time she might have given up.  Her family kept reminding her and asking what if she doesn't get accepted this time?  She did not know.

According to the Census Bureau, since the 1970s, the number of Turkish immigrants has risen to more than 2,000 per year. Members of this most recent immigrant group vary widely. Many opened small businesses in the United States and created Turkish American organizations, thus developing Turkish enclaves, particularly in New York and New Jersey City. Still others came for educational purposes.

Increasing of Turkish-American population in New York and New Jersey area, attract more professional to serve the community. Vanessa Seckin, wife of well-known Turkish interventional pain doctor Ali Inanc Seckin who works for Hackensack University Medical Center, has practiced immigration law for the last 10 years and now she opens her own law firm.  

Seckin has a diverse knowledge in immigration law that it is comprised of individual, start-up, mid size, and large multinational companies and organizations encompassing of broad range of industry sectors.

Seckin says: “There are a lot of immigration attorneys out there, but very few whom not only understand the laws and procedures, but also the predicament and the frustration that a person is facing in the U.S.”

Ebru Ejder is the new director of the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York, replacing Nihan Bekar who has returned to the head office in Ankara. Ejder has worked with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey since 1998 and previously worked in the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York as a deputy director. In 2011, the office will launch a new advertising and public relations campaign.

In the last three years, visitor arrivals to Turkey from the U.S. increased by 23.17 percent, thanks in part to the advertising in New York’s Times Square, high-profile television coverage on the “Martha Stewart,” “Anthony Bourdain,” “Today Show” and “The Bachelorette” programs and the 2010 ASTA International Conference in Istanbul. Istanbul was also the European Capital of Culture for 2010.