The show’s premise revolves around two female terrorists from an anti-capitalist cult who enter Singapore in hopes of bringing down the system – not without falling in love along the way.

As ambassadors for the YouTube Creators for Change project in 2018, Tilani and Chia were eager to create awareness about social issues, which led to a desire to shed light on darker issues in the way they know best – humour.

Chia directed the web series while Tilani plays the lead protagonist, Jo, a distraught divorcé in financial trouble who enters a sham marriage for quick cash. Set and filmed in the Lion City, the M-18 rated series explores various sensitive issues affecting Singaporean society and makes them relatable.

How boy bands like BTS and NCT 127 are leading K-pop’s US invasion

Chia told the Post one issue they were eager to explore was the possibility of finding love in a forced marriage. The two male leads, Jo (Tilani) and hopeless romantic Hayden (played by Noah Yap) are both in trouble with loan sharks – which according to the terrorists holding them hostage, makes them perfect candidates for marriage.

In a side plot, the show also sheds light on sexism in the workplace – a topic usually sidelined in Singapore – by depicting an ongoing debacle involving two characters who work in the Singapore Marriage Registry.

Despite the heavy themes, there is plenty of comedic relief in the form of cheeky local brand humour and raunchy scenes set in Geylang nightclubs.

She’s A Terrorist And I Love Her remains proudly authentic due to its all-Singaporean cast and use of Singlish – except for the terrorists, who speak in neutral accents. The two terrorists, Zeta and Lang – played by Munah Bagharib and Caitanya Tan – were also stripped of stereotypes, with no mention of their race, religion or nationality throughout the show.

“When you think of terrorists, you usually think of bearded men wearing suicide vests, but when you look at other parts of the world and the many shooters and white supremacists … you realise that terrorists come in all forms. So, we wanted to get away from any stereotypes of what people might assume terrorists would look like in Southeast Asia,” Chia says.

On working with HOOQ, Tilani says they had the freedom to do almost anything. “They [HOOQ] gave us a lot of creative freedom, and sometimes we were even surprised. It was also their idea for us to write Hayden, one of the main characters, as a sex shop worker who fixes vibrators, instead of our initial plan [which was] for him to work in a phone repair shop.”

Although given ample creative leeway, the creators ensured their writing team consisted of diverse voices in terms of gender, race and religion. “We knew we needed to be aware of different sensitivities … we wanted to make sure that we don’t cross the line from pushing boundaries into something that became distasteful,” says Chia.

Tilani and Chia acknowledged that if the show had been commissioned by Singapore’s main media broadcaster it would have resulted in a complete overhaul of the script – and also the show’s audacious title.

Free-to-Air (FTA) television comes with a range of restrictions in Singapore, according to the FTA Television Programme Code. Shows with strong sexual content are not allowed, as well as those that contain heavy use of Singlish, as it is said to play down “Standard English”, which is promoted by the government in the form of the Speak Good English campaign.

The code also states that programmes should avoid promoting values antithetical to Singapore’s national interest, such as references to extremist messaging.

As well as continuing to create content for their YouTube and Facebook channels, the duo hope to film a second season of the web series, and aim to continue pushing boundaries. “We want to keep making shows that make people look up and say they did not expect this out of [a show from] Singapore,” Tilani adds.

Other shows such as HBO Asia’s Invisible Stories and the Anthony Chen’s film Wet Season – also featured on HOOQ – are pushing the limits of storytelling in Singapore too. With new and refreshing content emerging from Singaporean creators, more are expected to follow suit and take the world of Singaporean television and film to a new level.

She’s A Terrorist And I Love Her premiered on HOOQ on January 23, with all eight episodes released by February. The first three episodes are free to watch on HOOQ and meWATCH, but to continue bingeing on the rest, a subscription with HOOQ is required.

For those living in countries without access to HOOQ, the first episode of the series will be uploaded to the Ministry of Funny’s YouTube channel by the end of March 2020.