How vertical dramas flipped Hollywood

In a faux castle atop a Los Angeles hill, a small film crew with their cameras flipped sideways squeeze into a bedroom and shoot a RAUNHY affair scene, under the gaze of their Chinese producer. This is the brave new world of “vertical dramas,” a multi-billion-dollar industry that has taken Hollywood by storm in just two years, churning out algorithm-driven movies that are watched in addictive 60-second installments on smartphones.

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With kitschy plots about werewolves and billionaires, budgets of just a few hundred thousand dollars, and breakneck filming schedules, this format from China is radically changing and, some say, saving - a struggling industry.

Vertical dramas are like a “soap opera on cocaine,” says producer Vincent Wang. “In 30 days, we can get a show together. Hollywood takes two years. We have already made 500 shows by the time they make their first. Who is the future?”

Vertical dramas emerged in China in the 2010s, initially shot by amateurs and shared on TikTok. Big companies swept in, recognizing the potential for rapid financial returns when hastily and cheaply produced micro-dramas go viral.

While similar efforts like Quibi flopped in the United States, verticals became an $8 billion industry. Since 2023, Chinese-run platforms - with names like ReelShort,

DramaBox and FlareFlow - have set up shop stateside, hiring thousands of talented filmmakers and actors left short of work by Hollywood’s persistent belt-tightening.

“I honestly think it’s the future...right here, right now,” says Zachary Shadrin, a TV and film actor, making his vertical drama debut during AFP’s visit to the set of “Love Through All Seasons.”

“It’s a good time to jump on this train.”

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