SUNNYVALE, Calif. — A young woman is desperate to raise $50,000 for her mom’s life-saving medical treatment. She will get the money, but only if she agrees to her stepsister’s unusual proposal: to marry her wayward fiance, who comes from a wealthy family but also has a rap sheet.
That’s the plot line for an episode of “The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband.”
That may sound like a telenovela. In fact, it’s a popular series that appears on ReelShort, an app where audiences can view on their smartphones over-the-top, dramatic tales reminiscent of soap operas called micro dramas.
Unlike a regular TV show, this drama unfolds over 60 episodes, each lasting one to three minutes. After six episodes, viewers hit the paywall, where they could continue watching ad-free with a $20 weekly subscription, watch ads or pay as they go.
Already, the series has garnered more than 494 million views since it launched in 2022 and ReelShort says it has made more than $4 million from the show.
With titles like “The Billionaire Sex Addict and His Therapist,” “How to Tame a Silver Fox” and “Pregnant by My Ex’s Dad,” micro dramas lean heavily into sensationalism and light on budgets, which are typically less than $300,000 per series. And many of them are filmed in Los Angeles.
Director and co-writer Cate Fogarty watches actor Diego Escobar on dual vertical monitors. The film, by platform DramaShorts, is shot vertically to be adapted for viewing on a phone screen.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
Short serialized dramas first took off in China, where they are hugely popular and generated revenues of $6.9 billion last year, even surpassing domestic box office sales, according to DataEye, a Shenzhen-based digital research firm.
Now, Hollywood is starting to take note of the bite-sized format.
In August, the venture arm for Lloyd Braun — the former ABC executive and chairman of talent agency WME — and L.A.-based entertainment studio Cineverse formed a joint venture called MicroCo to build a platform for micro dramas.
“Traditional Hollywood moved away from a whole genre and storytelling that fans love, and I think micro dramas really took advantage of that and really leaned into that fandom,” said Susan Rovner, chief content officer of MicroCo.
Studio interest
Major studios are investing in micro dramas in an attempt to replicate China’s success and find new ways to appeal to younger audiences that are accustomed to watching short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and other platforms while on the go.
Fox Entertainment recently announced an equity stake in Ukraine-based Holywater, a producer of micro dramas. Under the deal, Fox Entertainment Studios (a division of Fox Entertainment) will produce more than 200 vertical video titles over the next two years for Holywater.
And Walt Disney Co.’s accelerator program, which invests in startups, recently named micro drama business DramaBox, whose parent company is based in Singapore, as part of its 2025 class.
David Min, Walt Disney Co.’s vice president of innovation, said he believes micro dramas will continue to do well, especially with younger audiences accustomed to watching entertainment on their phones.
“We have to be where everyone is consuming their content, so that’s an opportunity for us,” Min said in an interview. “…This is just another new platform to experiment with and explore and see if it’s right for the company.”
First assistant director Chakameh Marandi, left, and actress Leah Eckardt wait during filming at Heritage Props last month in Burbank.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
This year, ReelShort, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., says it will produce more than 400 shows, up from 150 last year.
All of the productions are filmed in the U.S. and mostly in Los Angeles, said ReelShort CEO Joey Jia in an interview. The company plans to build a studio in Culver City that will adapt its most popular micro dramas into films.
“We offer a lot of opportunity,” Jia said.
Warsaw-based DramaShorts said in 2026 it aims to shoot 120 micro drama projects in the U.S., up from 45 to 50 this year. About 25% of those will be in the L.A. area.
DramaShorts co-founder Leo Ovdiienko says, “People are so used to consume content through social media, through TikTok, through Instagram, through Facebook and to share information.” .
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
“People are so used to consume content through social media, through TikTok, through Instagram, through Facebook and to share information,” said DramaShorts co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Leo Ovdiienko, 29, in an interview. “I believe it’s only a matter of time before the big players will also come to this stage.”
The company works with production partners in L.A. who employ actors, writers and crew members who work on the quick-turn projects, a bright spot in a struggling job market.
“The plus side of filming in L.A. is it is the epicenter of Hollywood,” said executive producer, writer and director Chrissie De Guzman, who has worked on DramaShorts projects. “We know how the state of our industry is doing right now, so a lot of talent have moved into the vertical space.”
Though vertical dramas are the length of a movie, they are spliced up into small chapters and produced quickly. A 100-page script might be shot in just one week as opposed to a month for a feature film.
Each chapter usually features a cliffhanger or dramatic moment — whether that’s a slap or a character in danger.
“It just hits every little emotional point,” said Caroline Ingeborn, chief operating officer at Palo Alto-based Luma AI, which provides micro drama companies with AI tools. “It hooks you in like this and because it’s so easy to press [Play]. You just need to see the next episode.”
The crew of vertical film “Sleeping Princess” break between scenes.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
Labor tensions
With ultra-low budgets, many of the productions are non-union, prompting some writers and actors to work under pseudonyms to avoid facing sanctions from their unions, said several people who work on the shows.
In an effort to address the issue, performers union SAG-AFTRA recently announced it has created agreements that cover low-budget vertical dramas.
Writers Guild of America West President Michele Mulroney said in an interview the union is aware that “there are companies that are trying to do this work non-union, so the guild wants to help our members … in ways that they can work on verticals and make sure they get that work covered.”
Micro drama producers said they welcome talking with the unions, but questioned whether their business models could support union contracts.
“We’re not anti-union at all,” said Erik Heintz, executive producer at Snow Story Productions, which makes vertical dramas for platforms including DramaShorts.
Despite labor tensions, these short-form dramas have provided a key source of employment for Hollywood workers who’ve struggled to find jobs as production has moved out of California.
Corey Gibbons, 44, a director of photography, said vertical dramas kept him in the business when other work dried up.
“I have a feeling that we’re on the brink of something that’s really going to change,” Gibbons said. “I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
So was 27-year-old actor Sam Nejad, a former contestant on “The Bachelorette” who started acting in vertical dramas in January. He said he’s landed one or two lead roles a month since then and can earn $10,000 a week.
“It’s a new art,” Nejad said. “The new Tarantinos, the new Scorseses are all coming through this.”
ReelShort’s office in Sunnyvale looks more like a typical Silicon Valley startup than a Hollywood studio.
Jia, the chief executive, sits at a desk in an open floor seating area with his staff. Along the office walls are framed posters with titles like “Prince With Benefits,” “Never Divorce a Secret Billionaire Heiress” and “All the Wrong Reasons.” Jia proudly points out why each program was notable on a recent tour of the space.
“I don’t have money to hire celebrities,” Jia said. “I have 100% rely on story.”
The 46-year-old entrepreneur, who has an electrical engineering background, launched his business in 2022. At the time, there wasn’t much interest from Hollywood studios.
The skepticism followed the high-profile collapse of Quibi, the startup led by studio mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and tech executive Meg Whitman, that worked with A-list movie stars on series that would appear on an app in short chapters. Quibi raised $1.75 billion, only to shut down roughly six months after launching.
Jia took a different approach. Rather than signing expensive deals with celebrities, he hired students or recent graduates from colleges like USC to work at his company.
Jia approves all of the micro drama stories at ReelShort, which he says is expected to generate $1 billion in revenue this year.
A ReelShort representative declined to disclose the company’s earnings but said the business is profitable.
Jia said ReelShort has 70 million monthly active users, with 10% of them paid users.
The churn — the rate at which customers drop weekly subscriptions — can be more than 50% at ReelShort, Jia said. That makes it paramount for the company to have a steady stream of content that entices customers to keep paying. Currently it has more than 400 in-house titles and roughly 1,000 licensed titles.
Like others in the genre, ReelShort and DramaShorts rely heavily on data metrics like customer retention and paid subscribers to make their content decisions.
“A lot of directors are thinking, when I shoot the film, ‘I don’t care how people think, this is my creation, it’s my story,’” Jia said. “No, it’s not your story. Your success… should be determined by the people.”
Frauds stars Jodie Whittaker and Suranne Jones as two confidence tricksters
Frauds: Official Trailer for new ITV drama
A fresh ITV drama is scheduled to debut tonight (Sunday 5th October), which is certain to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Six-episode series Frauds focuses on two expert con artists named Sam and Bert, portrayed by Jodie Whittaker and Suranne Jones. Suranne also co-created the programme and worked as an executive producer.
The duo are brought back together following their separation during a gruelling ten-year prison term. Bert secures release on compassionate grounds due to a cancer diagnosis, yet she has no intention of taking it easy during her remaining weeks. Rather, she’s determined to execute one last job that will demonstrate her capabilities.
Bert and Sam quickly set out on the most daring of art robberies, assembling a crew of exceptionally talented misfits to assist them in plotting the crime.
“Whilst the team must overcome numerous challenges before they can pull off the heist, it’s the power struggle between Bert and Sam that threatens to derail their plans and destroy them both,” the synopsis concludes, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Alongside Suranne and Jodie, the programme also stars Talisa Garcia as Miss Take, Elizabeth Berrington as Jackie Diamond, and Karan Gill as Bilal Anwar.
The ensemble is rounded out by Thais Martin as Caitlin, Javier Taboada as Blas, Christian Cooke as Deegs, Lee Boardman as Craig, Kate Fleetwood as Celine, Nansi Nsue as Amaya, and Abdul Salis as Mateo.
Where was Frauds filmed?
Frauds was shot in Tenerife earlier this year, highlighting the island’s breathtaking remote terrain and glistening coastline.
Speaking at a recent press event, the show’s co-creator Anne-Marie O’Connor revealed: “The setting of Spain [felt] like a character. How arid it is, how unforgiving it is once you’re outside of the city. And as Brits, we all know Spain, we all know a version of Spain… Once you get outside of that world, you’re back in a very sort of arid landscape.”
Executive producer Katie Kelly chimed in: “We always knew that’s where it would be set, but shooting in Tenerife offered us everything we needed and more. In a small area you can have a sort of Costa del Sol beachside strip full of clubs (with everything from drag clubs to a magician’s show), and then suddenly you can find yourself in what looks like an old Spanish town or up in lush, verdant mountains.
“In developing the show we were also quite influenced by Westerns and in that part of the world you’ve also got these desert landscapes which are vast and feel epic and dry and bring a really interesting flavour and tone to the show.”
Sam’s secluded cottage was located in a quaint northern town named La Laguna.
“It was amazing, but it rained a lot. Didn’t matter – it was stunning. It is literally gonna be in my top five places in life, I loved it so much,” Jodie Whittaker shared.
“I’ve been to the south like as a kid on family holidays and never really realised how much we’re missing out by not heading up north. You know Santa Cruz is a brilliant little city too. That’s a great thing about this job – you get to live in these incredible places for a little window in your life.”
In the series, Bert decides that she wants to steal a famous painting from the Reina Sofía museum in Madrid, where filming actually took place.
“I remember Anne-Marie and I were just walking around the Reina Sofía in the middle of the night, and it was just closed for us,” lead director Giulia Gandini recalled.
She then joked: “And we were just wandering around thinking, ‘Yeah, we could really steal something right now. We could pull this off.'”
Anne-Marie added: “Also, as well, it’s that thing of like, you know, sometimes if you just ask you get. I mean, I wasn’t responsible for asking, but it was like, ‘They said yeah’. And I was like, ‘Alright then. You know we’re nicking a painting out of here, don’t you?'”
As well as making good use of Spain’s stunning landscapes, the team also cast several Spanish actors that “understood the acting and directing style” of the UK-created series.
Frauds will premiere on Sunday 5th October at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
While new shows are set to air this week, Soccer Aid also makes comeback to ITV with a multitude of familiar faces – from Tyson Fury to Jill Scott – taking part in the challenge.
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell will host the newest series of Long Lost Family(Image: ITV)
Another week of TV lies ahead, with plenty of shows to keep everybody happy – from nail-biting dramas and hard-hitting documentaries to long-awaited favourites.
For Channel 4, on the other hand, Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox leaves no stone unturned as she explores some of Britain’s unresolved cases alongside Professor David Wilson in the third series of true crime show, In The Footsteps of Killers.
Ryan Reynolds narrates a light-hearted documentary about nature’s benchwarmers – from insects to amphibians(Image: National Geographic)
Underdogs
Monday, Disney+
Ryan Reynolds flips the script and pays tribute to the bottom of the food chain in this light-hearted documentary. Teaming up with National Geographic, the Deadpool star lifts the lid on the secret lives of nature’s benchwarmers, from slugs and insects to amphibians and fish.
Featuring a range of never-before-filmed scenes, each episode of this five-part series shines alight on their bizarre mating strategies, dubious parenting skills and even their most nauseating behaviours as it finally gives these overlooked superstars their well-deserved glory.
Old Trafford plays host to the world’s biggest celebrity charity match with Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney set to co-manage England(Image: PA)
Soccer Aid for UNICEF
Sunday, ITV1
Old Trafford plays host to the world’s biggest celebrity charity match once again, as Soccer Aid for UNICEF returns for its 2025 showdown.
This year’s star-studded line-up sees the England team face off against the Soccer Aid XI FC in a match that’s as much about heart as it is about goals.
This chilling new crime thriller plunges us into Bolzano, Southern Tyrol, where Italian detective Paolo (played by Matteo Martari) is forced to face his past when a serial killer he once hunted – costing him a leg and his girlfriend – resurfaces after years in hiding, targeting German-speaking victims.
Caught up in a cold case that turns into an obsession, Paolo teams up with the sharp and ambitious assistant DA Eva Kofler (Elena Radonicich) as the pair navigate cultural divides, buried trauma and grisly secrets in this stylish, slow-burn nail-biter.
My Life is Murder
Tuesday, 9pm, U&Alibi
Lucy Lawless reprises her role as PI Alexa Crowe in the fourth season of this loveable crime drama from Down Under. When a wealthy socialite dies in suspicious circumstances, leaving her entire fortune to her cat, Alexa investigates a heady world of high society gossip.
Aided by tech guru Madison (Ebony Vagulans), cafe owner Reuben (Joe Naufahu), brother Will (Martin Henderson) and detective Harry (Rawiri Jobe), Alexa also comes face to face with new potential enemies with Bill Bailey and Rodger Corser making guest appearances.
Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox return to screens to front the third season of In the Footsteps of Killers(Image: Channel 4)
In the Footsteps of Killers
Tuesday, C4
Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) returns alongside leading criminologist Professor David Wilson for the gripping third season of In the Footsteps of Killers. Each episode sees the pair reopen Britain’s most baffling unsolved murders – cold cases left gathering dust for decades.
Armed with cutting-edge forensic science and razor-sharp criminological insight, they retrace the victim’s final moments, challenge old assumptions, and uncover fresh leads the original investigations missed. It’s real-time justice in motion.
The Buccaneers return for a second season on Apple TV+(Image: Copyrighted)
The Buccaneers
Wednesday, Apple TV+
After invading the tightly corseted London of the 1870s, the American Buccaneers are fully settled in the second season of the eponymous show – in fact, they’re practically running the place.
Kristine Froseth, Josie Totah, Alisha Boe, Aubri Ibrag and Imogen Waterhouse all reprise their roles as the fun-loving American girls alongside Matthew Broome, Christina Hendricks and Guy Remmers.
Nan now has to navigate influence and power, while Jinny is thrown into the spotlight when she’s wanted for the kidnap of her unborn child. The girls wrestle everything from romance, jealousy and even death as they fight to be heard.
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell meet new people to help them reconnect with their Long Lost Family(Image: ITV)
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace
Wednesday, ITV
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell return for the deeply moving seventh series of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace. Across three captivating episodes, the team helps individuals who were abandoned as babies discover their biological roots using advanced DNA testing and archival detective work.
With the steady hand of social worker Ariel Bruce, stories unfold that span continents and decades. Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this series remains a tribute to resilience, identity and the enduring human need to belong.
Outrageous is a thrilling look at the lives of the Mitford sisters(Image: KEVIN BAKER)
Outrageous
Thursday, 9pm, U&Drama
Scandal and ideology explode in Outrageous, a darkly-elegant period drama based on the real-life Mitford sisters. At the centre is Susan (Bessie Carter), a whip-smart journalist whose literary voice clashes with the rising fascism of 1930s Britain.
Meanwhile, her sisters fall under the spell of dangerous men: Diana (Joanna Vanderham) is seduced by Oswald Mosley while Unity (Shannon Watson) becomes shockingly smitten with Adolf Hitler. As the world teeters on war, family bonds are pushed to their limits in this gripping tale of loyalty, betrayal and legacy.
Prost
Thursday, BBC4
Four-time World Champion, winner of 51 Grands Prix and F1 legend Alain Prost looks back on his lifelong career, spanning throughout more than four decades in this enlightening six-part series.
From his childhood passion for karting and the ranks to Formula 3 to his triumphs and losses, this show also delves deep into Alain’s iconic rivalry with teammate Ayrton Senna – who eventually became an unexpected friend.
Phyllis Logan stars as Cora Felton in Murder Most Puzzling
Murder Most Puzzling
Thursday, C5
Downton Abbey’s Phyllis Logan swaps stately homes for sleuthing in this charming new six-part crime drama. As Cora Felton, a sassy, wine-loving crossword columnist with a sharp tongue and even sharper mind, she’s unexpectedly drawn into a murder investigation when a teenage girl is found dead – and a bizarre crossword clue is left by the body.
Teaming up with the reluctant DCI Hooper (Adam Best), Cora becomes the police’s wildcard, solving puzzles and crossing lines in equal measure. Think Miss Marple and Ludwig – but with extra sass.
Corsica: Jewel of the Med
Friday, 5
With 600 miles of stunning coastline, Corsica is known as the island of beauty. Now, for 5, this show delves deep into the nation’s lush green forests and majestic mountains and its rich history blending both Italian and French heritage.
The journey takes viewers from Bastia, a foodie paradise on the northeast coast of the island, to its capital, Ajaccio, among the west coast’s thriving hillsides – the birthplace of one of the world’s most famous military leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Isle of Wight Festival
Friday, Sky
The party kicks off at Seaclose Park with an access-all-areas backstage pass to the summer’s hottest ticket, The Isle of Wight festival 2025.
From the incomparable Sting to the legendary Stereophonics, household names take to the main stage – but that’s not all viewers can expect.
From Deal or No Deal to rural New Zealand, Noel Edmonds has made the ultimate career pivot – and now, he’s inviting viewers along for the ride.
Having ditched UK fame for a new life in the remote village of Ngatimoti, Noel’s now embarking on a bold eco-project: creating the country’s first ever energy garden.
But with unrelenting weather, cultural clashes and a community slow to warm up, it’s no easy ride. Can he make his Kiwi dream grow – or will it wilt?
