Welcome to The Vertical Bloom, a weekly dive into the fast-growing world of microseries and vertical storytelling. Here, we unpack the platforms, creators, and deals shaping the format that’s redefining what it means to make and watch scripted content in the mobile age.
This week, we’re giving special attention to Daniel Kolitz’s New York Times Magazine feature, Are Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End? It’s a provocative look at an industry that’s attracting plenty of attention, investment, and debate. We give our thoughts and perhaps an alternate perspective.
Plus, Lifetime expands its vertical slate, Hollywood veterans discuss the business of microdramas, and more.
But first...
I am endlessly impressed by creative people.
And since this thing is about the vertical world, I’ll speak about the creative people who inhabit this particular aspect ratio.
The people in front of the camera, behind the camera, behind the computer screens that contain the call sheets for the crews as they rally on an unforgiving Tuesday night.
All the artists. All the logisticians. All the sweaty grips. All the people yearning for that thing they came to this adventure for.
This whole vertical world is full of them.
I think it’s easy to look at some of the work that’s come out of this space and assume that’s what these artists want to make. Or, through more jaded eyes, perhaps those of newspaper writers whose set visits were far too short, assume that this is all they’ve resigned themselves to ever making.
But that’s not the truth.
That’s not what any of these people came to this journey for.
And on the screens of social media, I think they’ll get their chance soon enough.
And we’ll all discover what this medium is truly capable of.
Alright, let’s get into it.
Are 60-Second Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End?
The New York Times Magazine takes a deep dive into the booming microdrama industry, examining its rapid growth, unconventional production practices, and uneasy relationship with traditional Hollywood. Daniel Kolitz asks whether the format represents an exciting new frontier for storytelling or something more troubling for the entertainment industry. It’s a provocative look at a format that’s attracting plenty of attention, investment, and debate, and one we’re responding to in this week’s deep dive.
A+E Global Media and Lifetime Expand Their Microdrama Slate
A+E Global Media and Lifetime are doubling down on vertical storytelling, launching three original microdramas from Microhouse Films alongside seven adaptations from their existing library. Lifetime plans to add new vertical titles every two weeks, with up to seven originals by year-end. Meanwhile, A+E is bringing nearly 200 adapted titles to MIPCOM for international licensing, including content from Cold Case Files, Alone, and Married at First Sight. It’s a significant push into both original vertical production and the repackaging of established IP.
Fox Entertainment Global Brings Microdramas to MIPCOM
Fox Entertainment Global is bringing microdramas and creator-led programming to MIPCOM as part of its expanding international sales strategy. Fox’s existing deal with Holywater calls for 200 microdramas over two years, alongside a separate agreement for 40 scripted projects with YouTube creator Dhar Mann. The company is also exploring traditional television distribution for its microdramas, treating their 70- to 90-minute runtimes as potential TV movies. Another sign that vertical storytelling is becoming part of Hollywood’s broader distribution business.
Microdrama Founders Say Hollywood Has Come Knocking
At TheWrap’s TheGrill conference, leaders from Mansa, Shortical, and aTwist discussed how microdramas are creating new opportunities as traditional Hollywood production contracts. Mansa co-founders David Oyelowo and Nate Parker shared production budgets of $100,000 to $250,000 per project, while Shortical CEO Guy Shimoni said his company is targeting $100 million in revenue this year, fueled partly by AI-generated content. The conversation highlighted the format’s increasingly varied approaches to financing, production, and talent development.
It’s Tempting to Say We’re Screwed
On microdramas and the case for optimism.
In January, Daniel Kolitz visited our office at Second Rodeo while reporting his recent New York Times piece on microdramas. We weren’t ultimately included in the article, but having read it, I wanted to offer another perspective.
Many of his criticisms are valid. Poorly developed scripts, unrealistic budgets and schedules, troubling portrayals of women, and business models that prioritize engagement over storytelling are just a handful of his points that I totally agree with.
While I share his concerns about AI replacing artists and the commodification of human creativity, (I’m a fairly young and therefore expectedly jaded individual, with plenty of anxiety about the future of entertainment; and, frankly, the world) I believe there’s reason to be hopeful.
I can confirm the problems with microdramas are real, as are the creativity, ambition, and extraordinary amounts of craft going into making them.
Actors memorize staggering amounts of dialogue and then somehow deliver beautifully authentic performances with the words they just speed-ingested. Script supervisors manage continuity under the pressure of knowing there are no chances for pick ups after wrap. Crews find extraordinary solutions to problems that could never have been imagined on a legacy set.
I don’t mean to romanticize, and I want to be clear when it comes to the unacceptable conditions of some of these sets (though gratefully I have never been on a set like this myself): It is imperative that we continue to advocate for better budgets, safer sets, and more sustainable schedules.
But there is something about that grit and determination of the people who make it happen that I’ve always admired in independent filmmaking. The ability to make something out of nothing. That is creativity. And microdrama sets are the epitome of it.
Kolitz himself describes a prop team proudly guarding the secret of a practical effect they’d pulled off under enormous time pressure. That determination is something I’ve witnessed time and time again, and it makes me see the state of this sector through a more optimistic lens.
During pickups (a luxury that I’m aware most productions in this space aren’t afforded) for our musical microdrama PLAYBACK, our cinematographer proudly showed me how he was able to capture the light in this one shot. We were in a Los Angeles warehouse, carefully recreating a sequence originally filmed on a stage in Mexico. We had already shot coverage for that moment. We didn’t strictly need to do it again, but we had a rare opportunity to make it better.
And we did. Because that’s what artists do.
An actor once reached out to Scott because he was excited by the quality of the pages he saw posted in the casting breakdown. He’d found a character he could really sink his teeth into. Another actress essentially taught herself to pole dance overnight to add authenticity to her performance.
We’ve heard from writers who say the format has stretched them creatively, forcing them to use familiar storytelling muscles in entirely new ways. This year, Sundance Collab and TikTok launched a four-week micro-series screenwriting program, recognizing that this format is a craft worth studying and developing.
I’m also encouraged by the opportunities this medium is creating for women in filmmaking. Look at Kristen Brancaccio, who has directed more than 20 microdramas, including Issa Rae’s Screen Time, and has now been tapped to direct her first feature film, Crush Party. Or Carin Smolinski, who moved from acting in verticals into writing, directing, and producing her own work, motivated in part by a desire to create stronger female characters and better creative environments.
I also want to give the microdrama audience it’s credit. There’s a long history of dismissing media women love, particularly romance and fantasy. While some platforms undoubtedly employ manipulative tactics, that shouldn’t diminish the genuine enthusiasm of an audience finally seeing more entertainment catered to its interests.
Let me be clear: I am not defending every trope. Some are deeply troubling, and there are stories we at Second Rodeo simply won’t make because they fundamentally conflict with our values. I just want to highlight that there’s something sex-positive about entertainment that takes women’s romantic and sexual fantasies seriously.
There are many more encouraging developments: The aforementioned Sundance Collab and TikTok micro-series writing program submissions prohibited generative AI-use in any way. SAG-AFTRA has introduced protections for qualifying independent vertical productions. And Luminate’s April research found growing skepticism toward AI-written entertainment among American audiences.
And make no mistake, the people funding and commissioning these productions have a responsibility to protect human creativity, improve working conditions, and respect their audiences. And I believe that that audience will be holding them accountable for those choices, with their dollars and their attention.
But at Second Rodeo, our mission is to elevate this medium, and I know we’re not the only ones.
I’ve met too many talented people who are determined to make better work, improve their craft, and push this industry forward to believe that its current limitations define its future.
So to everyone working in microdramas I hope you read this and know that I believe in us.
And to Daniel Kolitz: Thank you for shining a light to the world on the things that need addressing as we continue to evolve this medium to be the thing we believe it can be.
I believe this sector will create some of the most influential entertainment of our generation.
And it is tempting to say we’re screwed. But there’s a world in which instead we’re witnessing a very imperfect beginning to something extraordinary. And I have faith in the artists who are determined to make it so.
That’s it for this week’s Vertical Bloom.
We’re excited to keep building this into a weekly home for the ideas, experiments, and creative voices shaping vertical storytelling in real time.
We’ll be back next Thursday with more headlines, more analysis, and another look at where this medium is headed.
See you then.
Editor: Scott Brown
Writer: Franziska Harms