(2025-06-09) Microdramas Are Minting New Six-figure Careers: faster You Can Get In The Better

Microdramas are Minting New Six-Figure Careers: 'Faster You Can Get in, the Better'. I teamed up with my Ankler Media colleague Elaine Low of Series Business — where she covers the TV industry from L.A. — to dig into the booming world of microdramas, which has opened doors to fame and fortune for many creatives even as they bypass the traditional Hollywood career path.

Sometimes known as vertical dramas or mini-dramas (a consensus genre label is sure to emerge soon), these series are filmed vertically and typically have dozens of episodes — or chapters — lasting no longer than 60-90 seconds each. This format, wildly popular in China and elsewhere in Asia

first started grabbing American audiences about three years ago via apps like ReelShort, with content easily reposted on YouTube or TikTok.

the plot twists are sharp — all the better to keep you swiping to the next installment. These projects hire non-union actors and crew, and more than a few times the writing has been derisively accused of being AI-generated.

But microdramas are suddenly booming, and like YouTube, TikTok and other social media phenoms that came before, this emerging market is snatching up viewers who might otherwise be tuning in to Netflix or HBO. It also reminds me a lot of the lucrative business of webcomics, which have become a new IP pipeline for Hollywood

Elaine spoke with the CEO of ReelShort, Joey Jia, who told her from the company’s Culver City offices that he’s tripled his full-time workforce over the last year to more than 1,000 employees. ReelShort, not even three years old, brings in more than $1 billion in revenue annually, Jia said (yes, billion with a B), from in-app purchases and advertising combined.

I had a chat with Kasey Esser, a non-union actor who went from making $500 a day in 2023 to $30,000 to $40,000 a month (!) this year as a leading man in these soapy, telenovela-style shows.

ReelShort shared with us exclusively that it is premiering a new microdrama, The Adjuster, a fictionalized version of the story of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The vertical dramatization adds romantic tragedy to the mix: “After his wife dies due to losing health coverage, Matteo Leone, a broken man, takes justice into his own hands by killing the CEO of an insurance company,” the synopsis reads, in part. The series, sure to be provocative and perhaps draw new attention to ReelShort, will be released on June 14. (That’s a day after the premiere of Luigi the Musical in San Francisco, for everyone keeping track.) ((2025-06-14) Mangione Superfans Score Seats To The Premiere Of Luigi The Musical)

Buckle in and bone up, because the early success of microdramas offers lessons for Hollywood and creators alike about how to draw audiences with scripted stories — and entice them to pay up.

What to know about becoming a vertical drama scribe — and how much you will work and make if you can master the cliffhanger

How ReelShort and others rebuilt story structures for mobile users

How revenue is collected through a “coin” economy.

(rest paid)