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 quietly redefining what it means to make and watch scripted content in the mobile age.
This week, notes on how to make a good adaptation for microdrama, some highs and lows for branded microseries, and more Hollywood industry leaders joining the scripted vertical world.
But First-
I’ve been thinking about who gets to tell stories.
And who makes those stories possible.
Next week, I’ll be onstage at Fast Company in New York City with Academy Award winner Michael Sugar of Sugar23 and Yasmin Dastmalchi, President of Maybelline and Essie.
We’ll be talking about brands becoming storytellers.
Across film. Television. And vertical microdramas.
Personally, I’m curious.
How does an elevated storyteller like Michael look at this evolving space? What techniques does Yasmin—who leads two of the world’s most impactful brands—use to communicate a message through story?
And where does all of this go next?
I believe scripted digital storytelling is well on its way to delivering work that can stand alongside the shows we love. Work with real craft. Real impact. Work that might even say something about the world along the way.
Are we there yet?
Maybe not.
But it’s early.
And brands will almost certainly be important patrons of what comes next.
So what’s the balance? How do storytellers make something meaningful, brands communicate something true, and audiences come away feeling like their time was respected?
How do all sides win?
I’m excited to share my perspective.
And maybe more importantly, to listen.
Alright, let’s get into it-
The Hollywood Reporter adds Microdramas to their charts of streaming and TV ratings, box office grosses, and industry data.
LA-based microdrama app LoveHit is launching this month with five classic novel adaptations: Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby and Beauty and the Beast with more in post-production. The projects are being shot and edited as both vertical microseries and horizontal films. The latter of which will head to Cannes in the Fall for MIPCOM.
How Jamie Oliver’s midlife crisis became a Life360 microdrama
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver partnered with family tracking app Life360 for a comedy microseries, Finding Jamie, that puts entertainment first. The Drum shares how director Tom Kingsley led the Baby Teeth project, treating it not as a commercial but a comedy built around Oliver and his family. Jamie Oliver Group reports that this collaboration was the perfect opportunity for Oliver to pitch himself as a comedic performer, and Life360 benefits from prominent placement on Oliver’s social accounts with tens of millions of followers.
Larry Namer insists that vertical video is here to stay and won’t fully replace TV and film, but should be considered as part of the same ecosystem. Namer warns against Hollywood’s tendency to throw money at a burgeoning platform, and instead encourages investment in the current audience saying, “Produce for the audience, not for yourself.”
Grab responds to microdrama drama, but marketing intent deserves credit
Singapore-based concierge app Grab teased its first branded microdrama last week with the title I Fell in Love With My Grab Driver, which quickly sparked backlash regarding the potential danger of harassment from concierge services. Grab released a statement, explaining that they leaned into the genre for the title. Representative Mindy Yap shares that they chose to make a microdrama in order to showcase their customer, pulling local Singaporean talent and locations. Yap says they still see real potential in this strategy, but they’re learning along the way.
Colombia’s Idilio raises US$5m to scale microdrama platform
TV host and Miss Colombia 2018, Gabriela Tafur, closed $5M in a seed round for Spanish-speaking microdrama platform Idilio. Notably, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s investment firm participated. Katzenberg was also heavily involved in Quibi, the microdrama predecessor that is often quoted as being ahead of the scripted vertical curve.
David Oyelowo & Nate Parker’s Mansa Studios Debuts Slate Of TikTok Microdramas
Mansa Studios will launch three original dark romance microdrama series on TikTok. Oyelowo and Parker are dedicated to championing Black stories and are looking to microdramas as a way of hooking a dedicated audience.
How to Adapt Existing IP for Microdramas
Adaptations are the bread and butter of microdrama studios, as they can be the bridge for a new viewer to become interested in scripted vertical programming. But how do you make your adaptation memorable as opposed to yet another Cinderella story?
If you’re modernizing a classic story, you have to have a deep understanding of not only the original plot but also the characters and their desires. Sometimes the best way to do that is to flip the story on its head and focus on a character other than the original main character. Alternatively, you can have more creative control by adapting a story from history or pop culture.
Modern Tribulations
A modern day adaptation can crumble as soon as someone pulls out an iPhone or mentions social media. Obviously 2026 poses hundreds of challenges to the conflicts and plot points of a story written before 1920. The writers have to honor the spirit of the original in order for the story to work.
Emmy award winning series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries premiered in 2012 on YouTube and told the Pride and Prejudice story through the lens of a YouTuber. In Austen’s novel, Lizzie’s opinion of Darcy shifts after he intervenes in the marriage of Lydia Bennet and George Wickham. The web series honored the stakes of this plot point by having Wickham plan to release a sex tape of Lydia. This change was more impactful to an audience that had witnessed the rise of revenge porn and celebrity sex tapes in a way that a runaway marriage couldn’t.
The series used the same visual language that YouTube viewers were accustomed to. Lizzie recorded from her bedroom, editing included jump cuts and end screens, and even a couple of VidCon vlogs. This bridged the gap for audience members who primarily watched vlog content, or sketch comedy on the platform. The show was organic to YouTube.
Nothing Much to Do (2014) is another YouTube series of note, the New Zealand-based project adapted Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing into a vlog series that further immersed its characters into YouTube culture. They wove plot points into YouTube challenges, Q&As, and “storytime” videos. The story was strung together over three different channels that had distinctly different formats and camera work.
These adaptations brought classic stories into the modern age by leaning into the platform and honoring the characters and stakes of the original works.
The Anti-Hero
With the success of Wicked, I hope that some microdramas take a chance on adapting a character-based retelling. What’s essential with these adaptations is the character study. The plot of the original work needs to be upheld while you give more context to your anti-hero.
In Wicked, the audience learns how the Cowardly Lion became cowardly and how the Tin Man became heartless. Those characters still join Dorothy on her journey, but the audience sees Oz through the Wicked Witch’s eyes instead of the Kansas ingenue’s. Neither the book, the musical, or the movie would work if time and care wasn’t taken with building Elphaba’s internal life and obstacles.
2011’s Once Upon a Time did this dozens of times over with characters from Grimm’s fairy tales, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Greek mythology, and more. Recently, the BBC has had success with The Other Bennet Sister, which follows Mary Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Netflix’s Enola Holmes released its third installment earlier this year, and hit over 20M views in the first week. When a new adaptation of Cinderella or Jane Austen’s titles seems to come out every year, a different angle on these stories can excite fans.
Real People Fiction
Alternatively, there’s the option to adapt a fictionalized version of true events. Ryan Murphy makes headlines every year or two with his pulpy dramas about American villains and royalty: Love Story, Monster, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, etc. He’s frequently in hot water due to the fact that he chooses stories with living subjects and doesn’t take any steps to disguise the story with different names, locations, or identifying details.
However, more historical adaptations have been able to approach their subject matter with creativity and humor. My Lady Grey turned England’s nine days queen into a fantasy heroine and quickly built a cult following despite its early cancellation. Hulu’s The Great adapted Catherine II of Russia’s story into a dark comedy. America could be due for its own lighthearted adaptation of historical events. In contrast to the anti-hero storyline, historical accuracy isn’t required for these stories to work. There’s more to be gained by modernizing the characters for a fish-out-of-water comedy than adhering to the strictest timeline of events.
However, there have been more modern retellings that successfully hint at their inspiration while avoiding controversy. The 90s saw multiple “normal girl meets the Prince of England” romcoms on the heels of William and Kate’s romance. 2023’s Daisy Jones and the Six evoked the drama of Fleetwood Mac. And 2024’s Christmas in the Spotlight made quick work of the most talked about relationship of the year: Taylor and Travis.
Again, the success of these stories isn’t in remaining 100% faithful to the source material, in fact sometimes that can lead to harsh criticism. These adaptations work best when you get to the root of why people are still fascinated by the story. Whether it’s the incomprehension of a grisly crime, the tragedy or legend of a historical figure, or the intrigue of romance in the public eye; there’s something that keeps people talking about it. That’s the story and that’s what will make an adaptation addicting and memorable.
TL;DR
Modern adaptations need to feel genuinely modernized. The same characters and stakes of the original, but with the constraints of the digital age. So you need to deeply understand your characters and the obstacles of someone that age today.
For a little bit more creative freedom, you can center your story around one of the side characters but you have to be ready to deep dive into their inner life and bring truth to their circumstances and decisions.
Finally, you can have the biggest sandbox if you choose to play with a story from history or pop culture. But you have to drill down to the core of why people are still fascinated by those people and you have to answer their curiosity.
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: Jo Hoch