Small screens, BIG SCENES

Micro-dramas are fast becoming the next big thing, but what are they and why are so many viewers gripped?

- JOHANNA BELL

G one are the days of waiting weeks for the next episode of your favourite TV show to air. With endless box sets available on streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video, there's never 'nothing on'. But now, there's a new type of viewing joining many people's personal playlists.

Micro-dramas are shot in a vertical aspect ratio meaning they're filmed in a portrait orientation that makes them perfect for watching on smartphones - and they're split into short episodes of around a minute, serialising sensational storylines and ending on mini cliffhangers. With titles like Ex-convict Nanny and Billionaire Single Dad, The Genius and the Bad Boy and Freed by the Sexy Farmer drawing us in, women make up 70% of the micro-drama fan base.

Global downloads of dedicated apps like ReelShort and FlexTV rose by 460% in 2024, and the genre is rapidly gaining popularity in the UK.

While it costs relatively little for production companies to make 'vertical' dramas in comparison to full-length feature films, the market is already worth over £5bn - a figure which is expected to rise to several times that figure by 2027.

Here, we speak to one woman who explains why these bite-sized blockbusters are a winning format...

‘THEY SLOT RIGHT INTO YOUR BUSY LIFE’

Jen Cooper, 45, lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with her husband and their two teenage daughters.