2025 is all about vertical, serialised short-form drama - made for mobile!🤳
The boom in 90-second episodic dramas, designed and shot for mobile-viewing is a major trend to watch in the entertainment and brand marketing sphere. A natural evolution for social media-tainment.
In early 2024, millions of us watched all 52 videos of regular TikTokker Reesa Teesa’s “Who TF Did I Marry TikTok” story, which she shot, unrehearsed, as she went about a regular day, getting ready, driving her car, etc. Each episode currently stands at around 8 million views.
Within months, social media strategists were touting multi-episode, character-led, storytelling dramas as a brand marketing tactic to engage audiences. Brands like luxury jewellry house Alexis Bittar jumped on this with aplomb, creating the eccentric, bling-loving, Upper West Side character Margaux Goldrich and her long-suffering PA for a 6 month Reels campaign.
OF COURSE this was all bound to start making an impact on the professional film and entertainment world…
SHORT FORM, VERTICAL SERIAL DRAMAS TAKE OFF…
Take platforms like ReelShort as an example. Hits like The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband, show that bite-sized, mobile-first drama is successfully meeting new audiences where they consume content the most.
Currently, ReelShort caters primarily to women. And as I often say (and will keep saying until the message sinks in): the female ££ and attention economy is vital to the health of the entertainment sector. We’re crying out for more stories aimed at us, written by us, and with us as the leads! But ReelShort is just the beginning. Watch this space...
The ReelShort Phenomenon
ReelShort is a Chinese-backed short-form video streaming app, developed by Silicon Valley’s Crazy Maple Studio. Its bread and butter? Serialised dramas, made-up of 90-second episodes, optimised for mobile viewing. Think Hallmark channel meets TikTok: heavy on the romance, sprinkled with fantasy (hello, “romantasy”), and brimming with dramatic plot twists.
Sure, it’s low-brow. Yes, the storytelling leans into cheesy romance tropes, heightened emotional conflicts, and a near-total absence of character development. But here’s the kicker: it works. The format nails the short attention spans and fast-paced scrolling habits of its target audience.
And the numbers? They don’t lie. The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband currently sits at 435 million views, and ReelShorts already boasts 1.5 million TikTok followers...Proof positive that there’s a ravenous appetite for this kind of content.
The Road Ahead: Short-Form’s Potential in Entertainment
Here’s where I think we’re heading over the next 2–4 years:
1. Studios Will Start Experimenting
Major studios will begin creating short-form, vertical spin-off content as a way to market their franchises and keep fans engaged between seasons or sequels.
Imagine a Stranger Things sideshow, featuring favourite characters’ back stories or alternate plot lines, condensed into three-minute episodes.
A brilliant way to extend a story’s universe and keep audiences hooked during the main season drought, AND to test potential future storylines, gauge sentiment…
2. Empowering Fan Creativity
Fandoms WANT to create and participate.
The rise of AI and DIY video tools will increasingly enable fans to create their own vertical dramas inspired by the stories they love. Remember the explosion of Wattpad fan fiction? Now picture those stories brought to life as slick, smartphone-ready videos.
We already have fanart, fan gatherings in SIMS and Roblox, A03 writing challenges, comic books…
We could see cosplayers develop stories, filmed and edited themselves, partnering with franchises for extended universes… becoming the active contributors to their favorite franchises the way they crave.
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A Global Shift in Storytelling
Vertical storytelling isn’t new—it’s been gaining momentum in Asia for years. Platforms like Douyin (China’s TikTok) have been driving this shift, and now it’s starting to ripple out globally. What’s exciting is how the combination of professional studio efforts and grassroots fan creativity can come together to start redefining how we engage with stories.
It’s no longer just about consuming content; it’s about creating, remixing, and reimagining it. This blend of top-down and bottom-up storytelling is something I’m endlessly curious about.
Are we heading toward a future where fans and creators collaborate in ways we’ve never seen before? I think so.
So, what do you think? Could this be the next big wave in entertainment? Or is it just another passing trend? Let me know your thoughts—I’d love to hear how you see short-form storytelling evolving!
Great post. If anyone is interested in launching their rival platforms to reelshort, you can check out Briz (getbriz.com). We have the largest library of original English vertical short dramas for licensing!
verticals are the new wave and they are here to stay. I do think they will expand beyond hallmark style romances and sci-fi/action/horror/etc will all adapt.