Former reality television contestant Lily McManus now stars in her own comedy series, American Bikini.

Life has been something of a cliché movie script for former Bachelor contestant Lily McManus. She moved to LA, applied to play a stripper, and after a year ended up with her own television series.

McManus moved to the US, for her second chance to find reality television love on The Bachelor: Winter Games. She appeared alongside fellow Kiwi Jordan Mauger, after coming second on 2017's The Bachelor NZ.

The Kiwi actress says she never expected any of this. "I just haven't been saying no to anything, and things have been coming my way."

SUPPLIED Lily McManus plays Stacey in American Bikini.

Now, she has a lead role on the Amazon comedy show, American Bikini. A pilot season was published online, but funding for future seasons won't be confirmed until the internet giant knows how popular the show is.

For McManus, just being cast for the lead role is exciting enough.

"It was this very weird LA moment that you get in movies, where someone just goes 'hey, you, come play this character'. You don't really expect it," she says. "Half my friends were like, 'are you sure it's not a porno?' I said: 'I'm pretty sure it's not, not 100 per cent sure..."

SUPPLIED American Bikini is streaming now.

She hadn't auditioned for the lead role. In fact, she says she was found after applying for a more modest gig.

"I actually auditioned for the role of a stripper. I didn't have to get naked or anything. It was part of this dark series that had lots of hookers," she recalls.

Director Sean King got in touch, having seen McManus apply to play a stripper. A series he'd started work on a year ago had stalled, because he says they were unable to find the perfect lead actor. McManus was just the person they were looking for.

SUPPLIED Former reality star Lily McManus fronts her own comedy, American Bikini.

Although the Kiwi achieved a level of stardom, whereby her relationship status made global headlines, she didn't mention anything about her Bachelor past. King says: "I think she was purposefully playing that down. She had audition tapes, but none to do with The Bachelor."

She didn't need to. The role on American Bikini was more or less written for her. It's about an American designer, who after failing fashion school in New Zealand, is trying to make money selling bikinis.

It's also a coincidence, King says, that his company is called New Zealand Sons Films – named for his American-Kiwi son and business partner. He didn't know who she was.

SUPPLIED American Bikini is about a young designer trying to make money selling swimwear.

McManus, who isn't American, only has a visa to stay in the US until March. If her show goes well, filming for the next season will start in January.

Until then, she's focusing on pitching a script to American television producers. She can't share much about that script, however. And apart from that, McManus says she's sort of on hold until a second season is confirmed and her visa finally runs out.

Recent weeks, she's made tabloid fodder by posting a topless photo with her equally famous ex-boyfriend, Courtney Dober. "We're just friends," she says. Friends, who go on week long road trips together – hence the side of road "baby wipe shower".

While she waits to hear if any producers like her script, or if she'll get another season, McManus says she's planning to stay quiet. "I'm quite a private person, usually."

"Something very important for me right now is to focus on where I'm going and what I'm doing. Because I am all over the place at the moment, it is quite hard to see anyone," she says.

"It's crazy having this percentage of your love life out in public ... It's weird, but I've got used to it, which is even weirder."

American Bikini is streaming now on Amazon.