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As Hollywood wakes up to vertical micro-dramas their rise shouldn’t be dismissed as a fad but as a profound shift in the production, consumption and gender-bias of global storytelling
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Bite-sized video series designed for mobile viewing are taking the world by storm and even the $26 billion in annual revenue predicted by 2030 seems conservative.
“That number is very realistic—if not bigger,” says Vivian Wang, Head of Content at Crisp based in LA. “Vertical storytelling has limitless potential, and we haven’t even fully seen it yet.”
When people talk about vertical content, they often call it “micro-drama,” but industry professionals usually refer to it as vertical drama, vertical series, or simply “verticals.”
When the format first emerged in China, most of the content was adapted from online literature, produced on very low budgets, and distributed through social media. TikTok, in particular, fundamentally changed how people use their phones.
“People used to believe that vertical viewing was only for short moments—standing in line, taking a break, or filling gaps during the day,” Wang says. “But now we realise that people scroll on social platforms on their couch for three hours without noticing the time passing. Meanwhile, watching a horizontal screen for 20 minutes can already feel long. This shift is revolutionary.”
Crisp is one of a growing number of startup production companies and platforms focused on vertical video and targeting the English language market. Others include Vigloo, My Drama, ReelShort, CandyJar, and DramaBox. Spanish-language network TelevisaUnivision offers vertical versions of telenovelas on Vix.
Following Disney’s announcement of plans to launch a new vertical video product later this year, Netflix has also signalled an increase in vertical content on its mobile app.
“There’s never been more competition for creators, for consumer attention, for advertising and subscription dollars,” Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts last week, which makes you wonder whether $83 billion cash for Warner Brothers’ back catalogue and HBO subscribers wouldn’t have been better spent on a creator platform.
“Vertical content is already close to mainstream,” says Sasha Tkachenko, the Head of Studio at My Drama, a micro-drama platform owned by Ukrainian company Holywater in which Fox Entertainment has invested. “Nearly everyone has a smartphone and vertical viewing is unavoidable.”
Profound behavioural change
China now produces around 3,000 vertical shows every month. This phenomenal economy is built on a behavioural change in the way people consume content. Watching horizontally and passively, is a completely different mindset from watching vertically, with your thumb in control of the next swipe.
“When your hands are off the screen, the power belongs to the storyteller. You’re ready to listen, ready to have your mind changed,” Wang says. “Film and television evolved to demand that storytellers offer something meaningful enough to justify that power. If a story doesn’t offer value within the first 5 to 15 minutes, audiences increasingly refuse to give it their attention.”
Vertical viewing flips that dynamic. Wang says, “The power is in the audience’s thumb. You can scroll away at any moment. The audience isn’t looking to have their worldview challenged—they just want immediate entertainment. That changes storytelling completely.
“This is why traditional filmmakers sometimes look at vertical shows and think they’re ridiculous. But the numbers say otherwise. People watch them. People pay for them. The problem isn’t the audience—it’s our perspective as filmmakers. We must seriously rethink what people want to watch.”
Yang herself has a traditional media background. Before coming to the US, she wrote and produced four films (including Goodbye To Youth) and a TV series in China. Transitioning into vertical content required a major learning curve. “In China vertical content took off very quickly while Quibi (the Jeffrey Katzenberg-backed short-form video startup which closed in 2020) failed in the US. That shows that short-form, vertical narrative content can work—it’s just that only certain types of storytelling succeed in this space, while others don’t.”
Genre experimentation
Melodrama and drama have dominated the vertical space and continue to perform well but hybrid genres such as melodrama combined with thriller, detective stories, or sports drama.
Holywater have seen strong success with LGBTQ+ content and commissioned LA producer Second Rodeo to producing Playback, described as the “first-ever musical produced specifically for vertical video”. Unscripted content is being tested across the industry, including the series Love or Dare which debuted on My Drama before Christmas, but no one has truly cracked the code yet. ESPN even offers vertical sports content via the Verts tab in the ESPN App.
“The genre itself doesn’t matter as much as the execution,” Tkachenko says. “Rule number one is that vertical content must be fast-paced and immediately relatable. The viewer needs to instantly recognise themselves or someone familiar on screen. Characters should be clearly defined and almost archetypal. For example, if the main heroine is a woman in her twenties from a decent family with specific traits, those characteristics need to be instantly visible. Clear, simple character construction is one of the core drivers of success.”
Episodes are short (My Drama’s are between 40 seconds and two minutes) so the structure must be tight. “You need a strong hook at the beginning, a conflict in the middle, another escalation, and a powerful cliffhanger at the end,” she advises. “If any of these elements are missing, viewers will simply swipe away to another app. Every episode should grab attention immediately and hold it until the final second.”
Audiences should be involved in story development. “The simplest method is to produce a pilot of around 10 to 15 minutes and release it for free. We then ask viewers directly whether they want the story to continue,” Tkachenko explains. “If more than 60 percent respond positively, we move forward with full production. Pilots are also where we test new genres and tropes that we feel less certain about.”
My Drama also actively engage communities on social media, testing cover designs or titles and allowing viewers to vote. “We closely monitor fan edits, comments, and requests for sequels, prequels, or specific actors,” she says. “Listening to the audience usually pays off.”
Raising production quality
Improving production quality doesn’t always mean higher budgets. Holywater work extensively with partners in Eastern Europe where high-quality content can be produced at a fraction of Western budgets, according to Tkachenko.
“Productions that might cost $150,000 per episode in the UK can be made for $25k without sacrificing quality. This efficiency is a key part of how we raise production standards.”
Its deal with Fox will allow access to Hollywood talent both in front and behind camera. Titles co-produced with Fox already on the platform such as Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession “look fantastic” says Tkachenko. “The partnership absolutely elevates production value. Its scale, infrastructure, and access to locations across the U.S. benefit everyone involved.”
Holywater’s pipeline usually starts with books. It has a library of thousands of titles available on its app My Passion, which are tested for audience interest. Successful titles move into My Muse, another app where AI is used to adapt and visualise book IP into animated content. “Producing books and AI content is far less expensive than live-action production, so this helps reduce risk,” says Tkachenko.
The company also uses AI to support scripting, music creation, and visual effects such as crowd scenes, stunts or large locations for live action shoots.
“Speed is critical: a live action title is typically produced within three to four months, while My Muse can produce a full title in one to two weeks. In many cases, it’s becoming difficult to tell whether certain shots are AI-generated or live-action.”
At CRISP, Yang is looking for content that is “vertical-coded”—stories that fully understand and embrace the format. She explains, “A hit for us is a show that generates over $1 million in revenue. Production value matters, but storytelling matters most.”
It takes time, data, and thousands of hours of viewing to truly understand why certain content works. Success depends on understanding the current emotional pulse, she says.
“Vertical content isn’t driven by curiosity as much as anxiety. People come looking for comfort, fantasy, and emotional release. Understanding that anxiety—and fulfilling it quickly and effectively—is the core skill of this format. What filmmakers think is ‘good’ often doesn’t match audience behaviour. Learning that was surprising for me—but invaluable.”
Monetisation is shifting
The vertical industry currently relies on the IAP (in-app purchase) model which Deloitte forecasts will reach $7.8 billion in 2026. Consumers watch a few episodes for free, get hooked, and then (usually between episodes six and fourteen) are asked to subscribe for unlimited viewing or unlock episodes using coins (microtransactions). Additional revenue comes from licensing content to other platforms.
Platforms spend enormous amounts of money on promotion—often more than on production—primarily through algorithm-driven clips and ads on social platforms.
However, this model may be temporary. In China, ByteDance launched RedFruit in 2022, a free platform that removed paywalls and monetised through in-app advertising (IAA) quickly amassing over 236 million monthly users. The longer viewers watch, the more ads they see, and the more revenue is generated.
“When it's free to watch, the focus is on how long can I keep the viewer on my platform instead of how much money I want you to pay. That immediately changes the format.”
For example, RedFruit has started to produce shows with longer episodes of three to four minutes for stories with a slower burn pace.
“The money shots are mostly saved for the later episodes instead of at the beginning to encourage people to stay watching,” Wang says. “You have to create really good content that is worth staying for.”
However, RedFruit’s most revolutionary move is its generous revenue-sharing model. “This is really badass and mind-blowing, especially to artists in China,” Wang says. “I personally have friends who are writers of vertical dramas who are earning millions of dollars every year completely from passive revenue share.”
The model is familiar to YouTube of course only RedFruit will also pay production budgets – and pay the creator an upfront fee - unlike traditional platforms that rely solely on backend profits.
Internationally, we’re starting to see similar momentum. TikTok, still owned by Bytedance in the US despite pending ownership changes, has just launched a IAA drama app called PineDrama. While the Western market still relies largely on paywalls, the shift toward free, ad-supported platforms is coming.
“We are open to licensing vertical content from producers worldwide,” Tkachenko says. “Deals usually involve a flat fee, sometimes combined with profit-sharing, depending on the title, language, and market.”
Female led storytelling
Interestingly, vertical drama originally started as male-oriented content in China—“stories about underestimated men who turn out to be secret geniuses,” says Wang. But around 2020, platforms shifted toward female-focused romance, and that’s when the genre truly exploded.
My Drama’s core audience is typical: women aged roughly 30 to 45. Male content is emerging but represents a fraction of total production. Tkachenko says men tend to watch micro-drama for validation and revenge-based narratives, whereas women watch for escapism and emotional relief. These psychological needs differ significantly, so content must be tailored accordingly.
“Action-driven stories and revenge arcs work well for men. Sci-fi is more challenging due to budget and quality expectations, though we are experimenting with AI in this area. Strong existing IPs, however, are always worth exploring.”
Wang ties the growth of verticals to the demand for female-oriented storytelling. “Traditional film and television have historically been male-oriented,” she says. “Vertical dramas, especially romance, cater directly to female fantasies and emotional needs.
“Many people initially cringe when watching them, but that reaction often comes from internalised discomfort about openly enjoying female wish-fulfillment,” Wang continues. “This format allows women’s perspectives and desires to be centred in visual storytelling in a way film and TV rarely have. That is one of its most revolutionary aspects.”
Withing the year, Tkachenko predicts we may see vertical-first titles re-edited for horizontal viewing or even cinema release. Dedicated Vertical Awards have also emerged.
“At markets like MIPCOM, vertical content is still a relatively small niche, but interest is growing rapidly,” she reports. “People are very curious and eager to understand what’s happening in this space.”
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