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Sydney Morning Herald
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘So bad, it's good': The two-minute soap operas changing the way we watch TV
F ated to My Homeless Billionaire Alpha. Tricked into Having My Ex-husband's Baby. Signed, Sealed, Secretly Married. Believe it or not, these are not the blurbs of teenage fan-fiction erotica. Rather, they're select titles of one of the fastest-growing media phenomenons: vertical micro-dramas. Known as 'duanju' in China, vertical micro-dramas are feature-length movies fragmented into about 60 to 120 bite-sized episodes of one to two minutes, and filmed specifically for smartphones. 'The fundamental storytelling you see in the mainstream market is still there, but everything is really quick – the pacing, tone, all of it,' says Daniel Chua, a producer at Australian vertical production house Turtle Media. In terms of the stories they tell, Chua says they most closely resemble traditional soap operas or telenovelas, replete with cliffhangers, romance and 'crazy shenanigans'. However, micro-dramas pack the intensity of an entire soap into a minute-long episode hundreds of times over. Despite micro-dramas still being a 'sunrise industry', Chua says they have gained momentum. Production houses span the globe – from Content Republic in China to DramaBox in Singapore and ReelShort in California. The latter even overtook TikTok as the most popular entertainment app in Apple's US app store last November. And they're expected to keep growing. China-based industry watchers iiMedia Research estimate the vertical micro-drama market will be worth over $21 billion by 2027, up from $7.9 billion in 2023. So where did these micro-dramas come from, and how did they get so popular? Where did it begin? Short-form videos gained serious traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Meg Thomas, a PhD candidate in the University of Queensland's school of communication and arts. 'With everyone stuck at home, platforms like TikTok and DouYin [China's equivalent to TikTok] really exploded,' she says. 'TikTok went from having 653 million users in 2019 to over 1.4 billion by 2021.' At the same time, Chinese romance web novels were booming. Selina Yurou Zhang, a film director at Turtle Media, says the creators of these novels began filming short trailers to promote their books, many of which attracted major attention from viewers. This opened the door for micro-drama producers to purchase the IP from popular online novels and adapt them into mobile-friendly videos. Since then, micro-dramas have travelled the globe, including Australia. Zhang and Chua's production house was the first to set up shop Down Under. It has released popular titles such as Light My Fire – which sees a woman fight to save her loveless marriage – and Fake It Till We Make It, which follows an event planner who hires someone to be her fake fiance following her partner's affair. Both videos claimed hundreds of millions of views over their first two weeks online. Why are they so popular? With clunky (and vaguely pornographic) titles like Captured and Bound by My CEO, it may be surprising that these melodramatic series are performing so well. However, Zhang says it's simply part of the evolving media landscape. 'People have short attention spans now. We have busy and stressful lives, and we just want to scroll on and on to see what's next. [Micro-dramas] are designed for that, designed to hook people.' We're also drawn to the intimacy of micro-dramas, Chua says. A vertical episode needs to frame one character – two at a maximum – at a time, thus bringing viewers closer to the story on-screen. Though Western media still prioritises landscape filming for traditional screens, audiences are becoming more open-minded. 'They're essentially importing a proven Chinese format into markets that are technically ready, but haven't yet developed their own vertical storytelling traditions,' says senior RMIT media lecturer Dr Daniel Binns. 'It remains to be seen if there's a Western appetite for this kind of content, though the overlap with BookTok's preference for formulaic romance suggests an audience is ready and waiting.' How are they made? Vertical micro-dramas are incredibly quick, and often cheap, to produce. Entire seasons can be shot in 10 days to two weeks, Binns says, using minimal sets and focusing on character interaction rather than elaborate production values. Nicholas Westaway – an Australian actor who used to star on Home and Away and worked as a production assistant on shows such as The Good Doctor, but has since moved into acting in micro-dramas – says he has filmed almost 20 verticals over the past year, including Double Life of Mr President. 'An average vertical is filmed in seven to nine days … I normally review scripts before committing to a project, so roughly two to three weeks before a production starts,' he says. UTS associate professor in media Alex Munt says verticals are becoming a 'mini studio system' in China, with many productions using the same sets and casts. 'They replenish the same screen stories [and tell them] in superficially different ways,' he says. 'They cost between $5000 to $10,000 to produce, making them microbudget productions shot with relatively small cameras, like DSLRs, and crews of four to five people. Most have a hyperreal look. The quality of the scripts and the acting is that of student films.' Loading This may not sound appealing, but Munt says their low-budget, corny aesthetic often works in their favour. 'Like television soaps, there's a comfort with the generic storylines and returning actors. There appears to be a sense of the 'so bad it's good', which suggests audiences outside of China engage with the content in a playful, fan-fiction way.' What does this say about our current media landscape? We're no longer as concerned about consuming media in a traditional, chronological way, Zhang says. All micro-dramas are produced with the idea that viewers may be dropping in halfway through a series, or watching out of order. Some may not even watch them at all, instead just listen to them while cleaning the house or walking to work. 'Traditional cinema shows, it doesn't tell. We have to do both,' she says. 'So there's a lot of voice-over … Our statistics show if you don't put the most obvious information in the dialogue at the beginning of each episode, the audience might skip.' There's also an economic dimension, Binns says. 'Vertical video platforms typically charge per episode or per series rather than subscriptions, which solves a key problem big streamers like Netflix face. They can generate big subscriber jumps for popular series like Stranger Things, but then struggle to maintain production momentum to retain those subscribers. The micropayment model makes the economics much more pragmatic – viewers pay for what they actually consume rather than betting on future value.' Could they take over the world? Verticals are expanding beyond China thanks to translation, Zhang says. 'You can add subtitles to shows very quickly with technology, or it could be voiced over. Then it's just remarketed globally,' she says. 'It's already been tested in another market, so you're minimising risk.' However, micro-dramas are usually culturally specific, Zhang notes. For example, A Flash Marriage with the Billionaire Tycoon features a contract marriage – something Western viewers are less familiar with. Subsequently, production houses like Turtle Media are prioritising original micro-dramas, which cater to local audiences. 'Story is king for us,' Chua says. 'Our writers have worked in the film and television industry for over 20 to 30 years. Understanding the fundamentals of storytelling helps us create original content, rather than just regurgitating.' Loading They also work more slowly than their Chinese counterparts, often producing 10 to 15 series a year compared to 70 to 100 in China. While Turtle Media sees progress in micro-dramas outside of China, Munt is less convinced. 'Vertical dramas lure audiences with a soft pornography feel. They cast attractive young actors – often not wearing much and playing out cliched storylines fuelled by lust, desire and transgression – in a middling way.' Are there pitfalls? Zhang and Chua say micro-dramas have become a training ground for emerging actors, directors, screenwriters and cinematographers. However, the MEAA recently released a warning to those auditioning for verticals, citing potential unsafe practices due to the nature of the stories, lack of stunt or intimacy co-ordinators, and so on. This doesn't apply to every production house, Zhang notes, especially those like Turtle Media, which produce less content per year. 'Verticals are like a baby, so when people highlight these negative comments, it breaks my heart because we don't want to be like that [at Turtle Media]. This genre is still growing and if we don't treat it properly, it won't grow in the right direction.' Westaway says he has only had positive experiences in the vertical space, and hopes specific negative experiences won't tarnish the industry as a whole. 'The vertical space is creating many jobs for cast, crew and other creatives. I hope it continues to,' he says. 'If productions fall short of modern industry standards, I hope industry bodies view those situations not as opportunities to punish or make an example of anyone, but as a chance to guide companies to improve and make better overall working environments that can ripple out to the whole industry.' Five popular micro-dramas to watch 1. Fake It Till We Make It (Turtle Media) An event planner enlists someone to be her fake fiance following her partner's affair. As they navigate this sham engagement, jealousy, secrets and societal pressures threaten their growing bond. 2. The Killer Is Also Romantic (MGTV) Two secret agents are about to be married, but when they both suddenly disappear, it's revealed they each work for opposing assassins' organisations. 3. Forever Was a Lie (DramaBox) A girl is taken in by her mother's family after her parents go bankrupt. However, years later, the nanny's daughter encourages the family to turn on her. 4. Fake Married to My Billionaire CEO (ReelShort) After Sam's ex cheats on her and steals her money, Calladan Vandalay marries her at first sight. But he leaves one vital detail out: he's secretly the richest billionaire in the country. 5. Secret Surrogate to the Mafia King (ReelShort)
The Age
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘So bad, it's good': The two-minute soap operas changing the way we watch TV
F ated to My Homeless Billionaire Alpha. Tricked into Having My Ex-husband's Baby. Signed, Sealed, Secretly Married. Believe it or not, these are not the blurbs of teenage fan-fiction erotica. Rather, they're select titles of one of the fastest-growing media phenomenons: vertical micro-dramas. Known as 'duanju' in China, vertical micro-dramas are feature-length movies fragmented into about 60 to 120 bite-sized episodes of one to two minutes, and filmed specifically for smartphones. 'The fundamental storytelling you see in the mainstream market is still there, but everything is really quick – the pacing, tone, all of it,' says Daniel Chua, a producer at Australian vertical production house Turtle Media. In terms of the stories they tell, Chua says they most closely resemble traditional soap operas or telenovelas, replete with cliffhangers, romance and 'crazy shenanigans'. However, micro-dramas pack the intensity of an entire soap into a minute-long episode hundreds of times over. Despite micro-dramas still being a 'sunrise industry', Chua says they have gained momentum. Production houses span the globe – from Content Republic in China to DramaBox in Singapore and ReelShort in California. The latter even overtook TikTok as the most popular entertainment app in Apple's US app store last November. And they're expected to keep growing. China-based industry watchers iiMedia Research estimate the vertical micro-drama market will be worth over $21 billion by 2027, up from $7.9 billion in 2023. So where did these micro-dramas come from, and how did they get so popular? Where did it begin? Short-form videos gained serious traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Meg Thomas, a PhD candidate in the University of Queensland's school of communication and arts. 'With everyone stuck at home, platforms like TikTok and DouYin [China's equivalent to TikTok] really exploded,' she says. 'TikTok went from having 653 million users in 2019 to over 1.4 billion by 2021.' At the same time, Chinese romance web novels were booming. Selina Yurou Zhang, a film director at Turtle Media, says the creators of these novels began filming short trailers to promote their books, many of which attracted major attention from viewers. This opened the door for micro-drama producers to purchase the IP from popular online novels and adapt them into mobile-friendly videos. Since then, micro-dramas have travelled the globe, including Australia. Zhang and Chua's production house was the first to set up shop Down Under. It has released popular titles such as Light My Fire – which sees a woman fight to save her loveless marriage – and Fake It Till We Make It, which follows an event planner who hires someone to be her fake fiance following her partner's affair. Both videos claimed hundreds of millions of views over their first two weeks online. Why are they so popular? With clunky (and vaguely pornographic) titles like Captured and Bound by My CEO, it may be surprising that these melodramatic series are performing so well. However, Zhang says it's simply part of the evolving media landscape. 'People have short attention spans now. We have busy and stressful lives, and we just want to scroll on and on to see what's next. [Micro-dramas] are designed for that, designed to hook people.' We're also drawn to the intimacy of micro-dramas, Chua says. A vertical episode needs to frame one character – two at a maximum – at a time, thus bringing viewers closer to the story on-screen. Though Western media still prioritises landscape filming for traditional screens, audiences are becoming more open-minded. 'They're essentially importing a proven Chinese format into markets that are technically ready, but haven't yet developed their own vertical storytelling traditions,' says senior RMIT media lecturer Dr Daniel Binns. 'It remains to be seen if there's a Western appetite for this kind of content, though the overlap with BookTok's preference for formulaic romance suggests an audience is ready and waiting.' How are they made? Vertical micro-dramas are incredibly quick, and often cheap, to produce. Entire seasons can be shot in 10 days to two weeks, Binns says, using minimal sets and focusing on character interaction rather than elaborate production values. Nicholas Westaway – an Australian actor who used to star on Home and Away and worked as a production assistant on shows such as The Good Doctor, but has since moved into acting in micro-dramas – says he has filmed almost 20 verticals over the past year, including Double Life of Mr President. 'An average vertical is filmed in seven to nine days … I normally review scripts before committing to a project, so roughly two to three weeks before a production starts,' he says. UTS associate professor in media Alex Munt says verticals are becoming a 'mini studio system' in China, with many productions using the same sets and casts. 'They replenish the same screen stories [and tell them] in superficially different ways,' he says. 'They cost between $5000 to $10,000 to produce, making them microbudget productions shot with relatively small cameras, like DSLRs, and crews of four to five people. Most have a hyperreal look. The quality of the scripts and the acting is that of student films.' Loading This may not sound appealing, but Munt says their low-budget, corny aesthetic often works in their favour. 'Like television soaps, there's a comfort with the generic storylines and returning actors. There appears to be a sense of the 'so bad it's good', which suggests audiences outside of China engage with the content in a playful, fan-fiction way.' What does this say about our current media landscape? We're no longer as concerned about consuming media in a traditional, chronological way, Zhang says. All micro-dramas are produced with the idea that viewers may be dropping in halfway through a series, or watching out of order. Some may not even watch them at all, instead just listen to them while cleaning the house or walking to work. 'Traditional cinema shows, it doesn't tell. We have to do both,' she says. 'So there's a lot of voice-over … Our statistics show if you don't put the most obvious information in the dialogue at the beginning of each episode, the audience might skip.' There's also an economic dimension, Binns says. 'Vertical video platforms typically charge per episode or per series rather than subscriptions, which solves a key problem big streamers like Netflix face. They can generate big subscriber jumps for popular series like Stranger Things, but then struggle to maintain production momentum to retain those subscribers. The micropayment model makes the economics much more pragmatic – viewers pay for what they actually consume rather than betting on future value.' Could they take over the world? Verticals are expanding beyond China thanks to translation, Zhang says. 'You can add subtitles to shows very quickly with technology, or it could be voiced over. Then it's just remarketed globally,' she says. 'It's already been tested in another market, so you're minimising risk.' However, micro-dramas are usually culturally specific, Zhang notes. For example, A Flash Marriage with the Billionaire Tycoon features a contract marriage – something Western viewers are less familiar with. Subsequently, production houses like Turtle Media are prioritising original micro-dramas, which cater to local audiences. 'Story is king for us,' Chua says. 'Our writers have worked in the film and television industry for over 20 to 30 years. Understanding the fundamentals of storytelling helps us create original content, rather than just regurgitating.' Loading They also work more slowly than their Chinese counterparts, often producing 10 to 15 series a year compared to 70 to 100 in China. While Turtle Media sees progress in micro-dramas outside of China, Munt is less convinced. 'Vertical dramas lure audiences with a soft pornography feel. They cast attractive young actors – often not wearing much and playing out cliched storylines fuelled by lust, desire and transgression – in a middling way.' Are there pitfalls? Zhang and Chua say micro-dramas have become a training ground for emerging actors, directors, screenwriters and cinematographers. However, the MEAA recently released a warning to those auditioning for verticals, citing potential unsafe practices due to the nature of the stories, lack of stunt or intimacy co-ordinators, and so on. This doesn't apply to every production house, Zhang notes, especially those like Turtle Media, which produce less content per year. 'Verticals are like a baby, so when people highlight these negative comments, it breaks my heart because we don't want to be like that [at Turtle Media]. This genre is still growing and if we don't treat it properly, it won't grow in the right direction.' Westaway says he has only had positive experiences in the vertical space, and hopes specific negative experiences won't tarnish the industry as a whole. 'The vertical space is creating many jobs for cast, crew and other creatives. I hope it continues to,' he says. 'If productions fall short of modern industry standards, I hope industry bodies view those situations not as opportunities to punish or make an example of anyone, but as a chance to guide companies to improve and make better overall working environments that can ripple out to the whole industry.' Five popular micro-dramas to watch 1. Fake It Till We Make It (Turtle Media) An event planner enlists someone to be her fake fiance following her partner's affair. As they navigate this sham engagement, jealousy, secrets and societal pressures threaten their growing bond. 2. The Killer Is Also Romantic (MGTV) Two secret agents are about to be married, but when they both suddenly disappear, it's revealed they each work for opposing assassins' organisations. 3. Forever Was a Lie (DramaBox) A girl is taken in by her mother's family after her parents go bankrupt. However, years later, the nanny's daughter encourages the family to turn on her. 4. Fake Married to My Billionaire CEO (ReelShort) After Sam's ex cheats on her and steals her money, Calladan Vandalay marries her at first sight. But he leaves one vital detail out: he's secretly the richest billionaire in the country. 5. Secret Surrogate to the Mafia King (ReelShort)
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Clickbait titles and cliffhangers: TV serials made for phones grip viewers
Found a Homeless Billionaire Husband for Christmas. The Quarterback Next Door. Revenge of the XXL Wife. My Secret Agent Husband. These may sound like cringy fantasies, but they're actually titles of 'vertical dramas', a new form of episodic television that's gripping millions around the world. The genre, which originated in China and has been called 'TV for the Tiktok generation', consists of minute-long episodes designed for smartphones. It's experienced such a boom that the market is predicted to be worth $14bn (£11bn) by 2027. 'The rise means that there are a lot of audiences who haven't been satisfied by the current supply of the media market,' Zhou Yuan, founder of the Beijing-based vertical film production house Content Republic, told Hong Kong's Filmart last month. Duanjus – Chinese for micro dramas – began their life on social media before transforming the national audiovisual market in China. Chinese companies are now working with foreign production companies to export the form, buoyed by a slew of new streaming apps such as ReelShort, ShortTV, DramaPops and FlexTV. Last November, the California-based, Chinese-backed ReelShort overtook TikTok as the most popular product in the entertainment section of Apple's app store in the US – and has been downloaded by more than 30m people since its launch in 2022. 'Some people said, 'I can't believe someone would pay for this,'' Joey Jia, CEO of Crazy Maple Studio, the company behind ReelShort told the Washington Post. 'Our answer is: You think you understand the entire entertainment market? You don't.' Viewers are attracted to many of the tropes that BookTok readers recognise, such as enemies to lovers, secret billionaires and werewolves. They report becoming hooked thanks to the clickbait titles, cliffhangers and eyebrow-raising scenes. Apps will usually offer a handful of episodes for free, before requiring a paid subscription. Much like a video game, ReelShort allows its users to purchase 'coins' to access episodes. Jen Cooper, the British founder of the website Vertical Drama Love, was drawn to the format because of her love for romantic movies and comedies. 'Last April, I was going through a really difficult time personally. I couldn't relax or focus enough to watch full-length dramas anymore,' the former bookseller said. 'One day I was scrolling TikTok and saw an ad that made me go, 'what?!'.' She ended up watching her first vertical drama, You Belong With Me, about a jilted woman who gets together with her ex's uncle. 'It's full of classic tropes, but at the heart of it is a gorgeous love story with some genuinely funny moments,' she said. After that, Cooper 'went down the rabbit hole'. She set up an Instagram account to write reviews and connect with those within the industry, and quickly formed a community. The interest was so huge that when she set up fan awards, she received more than 16,000 votes from around the world in just one week. Cooper learned that many others discovered verticals during difficult times in their life. 'I've heard from fans who are bereaved, living with serious health conditions, or acting as carers. The audience is largely women, from early 20s to 60s. I've spoken to a student in Pakistan, a bed-bound older woman in Italy, and a single mum whose husband died from an overdose who tunes in while doing the housework.' The common appeal for all of them is escapism; a quick and guaranteed dopamine hit when life feels overwhelming. 'People want to see good triumph over bad, and – let's be honest – very attractive people falling in love.' Defne Turan, production manager for London-based Sea Star Productions, which makes verticals, said the format was 'the way of the world now'. She said the company had been receiving applications from film-makers and actors who wanted to be involved. 'It's a new genre and I believe it should be handled with as much care as any other part of the industry. Just because it's different and fast-paced doesn't mean the standards are any less,' she said. 'We use industry standard cameras and lots of the production crew and make-up artists have all worked on big productions.' For many of the actors, verticals have been a lifeline. At a time when strikes and cutbacks have made work hard to come by, they provide consistent jobs. Verticals are typically filmed in just seven to 10 days, with two cameras capturing scenes in a single take. Teig Sadhana, 29, a Australian-British actor based in New York, began working in verticals after graduating from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting last year. 'I applied to an ad on a pretty standard acting job site,' he said. 'I didn't know what a vertical was, I just needed the pay check.' He had a brief call with a director, and a few days later was on location in Pennsylvania to shoot Glory of Revenge. 'Since then I've made 10 films across all the major vertical platforms, worked with incredible professionals, and am finding some of the joys and comforts of having regular work. Not an easy thing to manage so quickly out of the conservatory.' While he initially struggled to make sense of a format with limited room for character development, Sadhana said it helped to avoid 'overcomplicating it too much'. Nic Westaway, a former star of the Australian TV soap opera Home and Away, who now appears in the hit vertical The Double Life of Mr President, told Filmart: 'In Australia, I played one character for nearly four years, nearly 400 episodes; but in the last nine months I've got to play 14 different characters in 14 different crazy verticals.' According to Zhou, Content Republic is aiming to have 400 verticals in production each year: 200 for the domestic Chinese market and 200 for an international audience. Whether the novelty factor will wear off is yet to be seen (Quibi shut down after just six months), but even traditional media companies are monitoring the trend as they look to appeal to younger viewers with diminishing attention spans. In 2023, Paramount Pictures briefly released Mean Girls on TikTok in 23 snippets. 'It's a space we're watching closely, with plenty to learn from how audiences and creators are embracing it,' Sacha Khari, Channel 4's head of digital commissioning, said.
