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China’s Pocket-Sized Soaps Hook U.S. Viewers
HONG KONG – While U.S. television series are opting for fewer, longer episodes, a new genre from China is captivating American audiences by doing the exact opposite. These minute-long, soapy dramas are flooding streaming platforms, offering fast hits of romance and revenge.
China’s Pocket-Sized Soaps Hook U.S. Viewers
These minute-long, soapy dramas are flooding streaming platforms, offering quick hits of romance and revenge.
- A new genre of minidramas, originating from China, features episodes that are just one to two minutes long.
- These shows are drawing significant viewership in the U.S. on platforms like ReelShort, DramaBox, and GoodShort.
- The format, characterized by rapid pacing, cliff-hangers, and soapy plotlines, mirrors the short-form video content popular on platforms like TikTok.
- Production costs are substantially lower than traditional TV, with some shows costing under $70,000 and filming in as little as 10 days.
- Major U.S. entertainment companies like netflix and Disney are exploring or investing in similar short-form content formats.
Known as minidramas, micro dramas, or vertical dramas, these shows are essentially condensed soap operas. Each episode, lasting only a minute or two, is structured into dozens of short chapters. they deliver a potent mix of cheesy romance, over-the-top drama, and plenty of cliff-hangers, reminiscent of telenovelas.
California-based retail business owner Jacarius Murphy described the revenge-themed minidramas as “so good.” Murphy is a fan of these Chinese productions, known as duanju, which frequently enough focus on romance, revenge, and fantasy. The narratives frequently feature affluent characters,such as CEOs who are secretly vampires or billionaires leading double lives.Notably,many of these roles are played by American actors.
“People want this fast dopamine hit, and they can snack on it while they’re waiting,” saeid Anina Net, an american actress based in Los Angeles who has been working in minidramas for four years.
The genre’s origin lies in China, where production companies capitalized on the widespread popularity of short-form video platforms. One IMDb review described it as “Hilariously bad, oddly addictive,” with the show amassing over 485 million views on ReelShort as of Friday.
The Chinese-backed short-video app has frequently competed with TikTok for the top spot in the entertainment category of Apple’s U.S. app store.
Yan Min, who helped organize an industry conference in China last year, observed that “The short videos on TikTok have laid a solid foundation for the popularity of short dramas.” He added that platforms like ReelShort are using advertising on YouTube and TikTok to reach new users, catering to the “evolving viewing habits of younger generations,” who are accustomed to short
