The Vertical Bloom: 05/21/26
Your guide on the happenings of the vertical drama landscape.
Welcome to The Vertical Bloom, a weekly dive into the fast-growing world of microdramas and vertical storytelling. Here, we unpack the platforms, creators, and deals shaping the format that’s quietly redefining what it means to make—and watch—television in the mobile age.
Fresh Takes
Before jumping into this week’s microdrama news, we’re excited to share that beginning next week, Open Gardens’ Vertical Bloom will be led by Scott Brown and the team at Second Rodeo—bringing readers even deeper behind the scenes of the rapidly evolving vertical industry.
A Quote from Substacker-in-Chief Ben Odell:
“Mitch, Fernando and I are so glad to have Scott on board. Open Gardens isn’t written by journalists or consultants observing the business from the outside. It’s written by producers and filmmakers actively trying to navigate these changes in real time by learning, building, and writing through them. Scott is out there making vertical content right now as a showrunner, director, writer, and producer, and his perspective on where this business is headed will be both unique and inspiring.”
BET Joins the Microdrama Industry with aTwist (a.k.a MicroCo)
BET, the Paramount-owned media group focused on Black audiences, has announced a partnership with microdrama company aTwist—formerly known as MicroCo—to develop and distribute vertical series across both linear and digital platforms. Through the collaboration, BET and aTwist will produce projects designed for both cable television and aTwist’s forthcoming mobile app, which is set to launch this summer. Each series will first premiere on the BET channel before moving to the aTwist platform. The partnership also reflects a larger bet from aTwist that the format can resonate with Black audiences, a demographic the companies claim remains underserved within the current microdrama landscape.
A Quote from BET Studios EVP and Head of Creative Aisha Summers-Burke:
“BET is planting our stake in the ground for the next era of storytelling. The microseries format represents one of the most significant shifts in how content is created, distributed, and consumed, and we’re positioning BET at the forefront of that evolution.”
COL Group Recruits Ex-Paramount and Disney Execs
COL Group, one of the largest players in the microdrama space, has added former Paramount and Disney executives as it continues expanding globally. Jason Ander joins as Head of U.S. Partnerships, bringing experience from TikTok, Paramount, and Hulu, where he held senior roles in digital strategy and integrated marketing. Eileen Low joins as Head of Partnerships and Sales for Asia after previous roles at Canal+ and Disney. The hires reflect a broader shift in the space as microdrama companies increasingly recruit established media executives to build scale beyond the early experimentation phase.
Canela Media Launches ‘Zully’—Bilingual Microdrama Platform
Hispanic media company Canela Media has launched Zully, a new microdrama app offering content in both Spanish and English. Unlike legacy players such as TelevisaUnivision and Telemundo, Canela operates with a digitally focused model, claiming a monthly audience of 60 million users across all platforms. Its strategy is to outpace their competitors, leaning heavily on gen-AI to produce up to 30 series per month. With production centered in Mexico, they’re launching as a fully scripted platform. Zully stands out because it reflects a growing push toward vertically integrated ecosystems where speed, ownership, and scalable production become the primary competitive advantages. If it works, however, can only be revealed with time…