Around the world the coronavirus lockdown has meant cancellations and uncertainty for the entertainment industry as producers scramble to find ways to keep the bored masses glued to their screens.
But isolation won't deter one Turkish comedy screenwriter from keeping the laughs going with her popular TV show.
Gülse Birsel had to cancel her film set for the popular sitcom "Jet Sosyete" (High Society) when the epidemic started to spread in the country in early March.
That meant the final two episodes of the show, telling the story of two middle-class Istanbul families struggling to enter high society, would be left half-finished.
"For a week or so, I told myself that's it, we end it here," says Birsel, who also stars as the fashion model-turned-housewife Gizem in the series.
Then she came up with an unorthodox idea: She asked the 12 characters each to shoot their own part of the episode on their mobile phones in their locked-down home setting.
The clips in video-call format were collected in an online pool to be edited by a team in order to create the episode which is now due to air on April 8.
When Birsel shared the teaser of the do-it-yourself episode on social media last week, fans showered her with comments of love and appreciation.
"There is huge interest so far. People so much wanted to see the humorous, optimistic side of the epidemic story rather than only figures and data on news programmes," she says.
"People loved being able to sympathize with their favourite characters, seeing them cope with the similar isolation conditions but still have fun and make others laugh."
"I hope we will be able to bring some joy and hope," she says.
It is not as easy as it seems but a fun experience, Birsel adds.
"Each character has to put on their own make-up, set the background, find the perfect angle for the camera and improvise as such," Birsel says.
In the show, two families of four each live in two neighbouring Istanbul villas with a large garden.
In one scene, the desperate housewife of one of the two families, Safiye, sprays disinfectant on the screen after a character starts coughing.
In another scene, Gizem, who is also vying to become a popular singer but just lacks the perfect voice for it, performs for the rest of the team at home.
"That was one of the funniest parts. I was really worried that my neighbours would end up at the door complaining about the noise," she laughs.
"I apologize for the disturbance."
The episode has its own backstage moments too. In one of them, as Birsel describes it, a character had to shoot one scene several times after her mother interrupted one attempt and the doorbell rang in another.
Nationwide restrictions are already in place in Turkey, a country of 83 million. Television viewership surged 10 per cent over a month, according to local media, as more people stuck at home started tuning in.
But that may be short-lived with such staples of showbusiness as sport and concerts cancelled. Producers will have to deal with cost concerns as advertisement income drops.
Birsel says her home-made episode model could inspire new movie or soap opera ideas even as the lockdown drags on.
"There is always hope. This is something temporary and as the show[business] world, we should be at the front telling people that life goes on however harsh problems may seem."
