Who is Serenay Sarıkaya in Netflix’s Thank You, Next? Actor’s character, ethnicity, social media and more explored

Netflix dropped all episodes of Thank You, Next on May 9, 2024. The protagonist of the Turkish series is Leyla Taylan, played by Serenay Sarıkaya, a Turkish actor-model. Serenay portrayed the dilemma of a young professional looking for committed love in the modern urban world. While the show has been presented as a nuanced romantic comedy, Serenay's performance is getting appreciation.

For the uninitiated, Thank You, Next has Boran Kuzum, Hakan Kurtas and Metin Akdülger playing the three men in the lead character's life. The other supporting cast includes Dave Wallace, Meric Aral, Zeynep Tugçe Bayat, Ahmet Rifat Sungar and many more. Bertan Basaran is the director for the series which is written by Ece Yörenç.

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Who is Serenay Sarıkaya seen in Thank You, Next? Personal life explored

Serenay is a Turkish model-cum-actor (Image via Instagram)

Serenay Sarıkaya is a Turkish model-actor known for numerous roles in Turkish movies and television shows. Born on July 1, 1992, in Ankara, the Istanbul-based actor was chosen Miss Turkey First Runner-Up in 2010. She graduated from Fine Arts High School in Istanbul and is interested in competitive games and Latin dance.

Her acting career started in 2006 with Saskın, a Turkish movie, followed by a Turkcell commercial. Over the years, Serenay has worked in many films, series, shows and commercials. A few noteworthy titles are the crime series Adanalı, Fi, Aile; a theatrical musical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, titled Alice Müzikali; movies like Behzat Ç, Ankara Yanzıyor, and many more.

She has been a Turkish brand ambassador for products like Head & Shoulders and Bulgari. Serenay has won many awards in Turkey for her performances which include Best Movie Actress of the Year, Best Theatre Actress, Elle Style Actress of the Year, and Woman of the Year.

Serenay in a scene from the show (Image via Netflix)

Serenay Sarıkaya is active on social media and has her own official Instagram page titled "serenayss" where she shares her achievements and private photographs. Her X (formerly Twitter) account named @SrnySrkyResmi shows clips from her various performances, shows and movies besides her photoshoots for magazines.

Many of her performances including those in the theatrical musical Alice Müzikali are available on YouTube's music channel.

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Thank You, Next: Who is Serenay Sarıkaya playing?

Serenay's Leyla is looking for true love (Image via Netflix)

As mentioned earlier, Serenay Sarıkaya plays the lead character of Leyla Taylan in the Netflix series, Thank You, Next. The character is a young lawyer who is pulled on three sides by the dilemma of romantic relationships. It shows how love and commitment are tough to find in a modern world.

The series also puts forth the tug between personal interests and professional life. Leyla's attraction towards her client's husband and her professional duty towards her client are at loggerheads. Serenay portrays Leyla's plight in this sticky situation well.

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What is Thank You, Next about?

Thank You, Next is a Turkish comedy-drama on Netflix with a synopsis that reads:

"After a painful breakup, a young lawyer sets out to find true love in the confusing world of modern dating with the support of her best friends."

As the synopsis says, Serenay's Leyla is going through a heartbreak and is trying to bring love back into her life. On the other hand, she is trying to balance her professional life. She takes up Tuba's divorce case, from her three-times married husband, Cem Murathan. The thrice-married Cem has excessive appeal and narcissism that Leyla has to fight.

As mentioned before, her past experience with love and her current dilemma between personal attraction and professional duty create conflicting situations for her. To top it, there is a third man in her life, Chef Fayyaz, who is trying to get her attention through great food. Leyla must choose her path carefully.

All nine episodes of Thank You, Next are currently streaming on Netflix.