Hollywood talent is moving into the market for microdramas, the short, scripted phone-first series that are surging in popularity. Industry researcher Omdia estimates U.S. revenue from microdramas will hit $1.5 billion this year, and a growing field of apps including ReelShort, DramaBox, and TikTok’s PineDrama are chasing that business. Now, actors and producers are signing on to star in, create, and fund these projects, drawn by cheaper production costs and shifting viewer attention to short-form video platforms.
James Franco is the latest recognizable actor to take the plunge, starring in “Love, Lies & Frank,” which streams exclusively on the Shortical app. He plays an advertising CEO caught up in crime and werewolves, a plot that follows the soap-opera and cliffhanger formula typical of the format. The series is one of the first produced under SAG-AFTRA’s new verticals agreement, a union contract aimed at low-budget microdramas, marking an early test of how the arrangement can open work for performers. Franco’s casting also draws notice as a comeback attempt following sexual misconduct allegations and a 2021 legal settlement, though Variety was unimpressed, writing that he appeared to be sleepwalking through his lines.
Issa Rae, who launched her career with the 2011 web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” has embraced the format through her company Hoorae Media. In May, Hoorae partnered with TikTok’s PineDrama app on “Screen Time,” a thriller about a double date that turns dark when a hijacked television forces the couples to confront secrets. The series drew nearly 75 million views in its first week, becoming the top-performing vertical series on TikTok and PineDrama at the time, and later passed 150 million views.
“Modern Family” actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is entering the space with “Theater Kids Vs. Zombies,” an upcoming musical comedy for the vertical storytelling platform aTwist. The premise follows theater students who discover their high school is overrun by zombies and decide their best chance of survival is to stage a musical. The project stands out for leaning into comedy and theater-kid culture, rather than the romance and melodrama that dominate most microdramas.
Taye Diggs is going beyond acting in the field, serving as star and executive producer of “Off Limits & All Mine” on the CandyJar platform, where he plays a widowed mogul in a forbidden romance with his best friend’s adult daughter. He has also launched his own vertical storytelling platform, Microhouse Films, which aims to give filmmakers more control over production and monetization. The platform’s debut lineup included eight projects, among them “Tides of Temptation,” a series made with Lifetime.
Kim Kardashian represents another entry route, as she has invested in the microdrama platform GammaTime alongside her mother, Kris Jenner, and other angel investors, without starring in a series herself. The wave of celebrity involvement comes as movie studios seek cheaper and faster content production while many crew members remain out of work, and as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts capture more of viewers’ attention. The trend suggests Hollywood is betting that the small screen, in its most compact form, is becoming a significant part of the entertainment business.
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