Microdramas have emerged as one of the fastest growing entertainment formats in Asia, with an ever-expanding global audience.
At every industry market, there is now mention of these scripted, serialised stories, shot mostly in the 9:16 vertical format for viewing on mobile devices. Each episode tends to last no more than three minutes, adding up to a total run close to a feature film, with the storytelling offering immediate emotional hooks and cliffhangers designed to keep audiences watching.
Their rise has spurred the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) to introduce a best microdrama category, with the first winner set to be announced at its upcoming 9th edition, in a bid to champion premium micro-entertainment and bring more international players into the field.
The nominees include India’s Deadline from Cam Pictures and Bullet Micro Drama App; Japan’s Love & Youth On The Run from FOD Short and Fuji Television Network; Korea’s The Fox Scandal In Kyungsung from iQIYI and Bamboonetwork; and Malaysia’s The Flavour Of Love from Creative Stew and Viu.
Microdramas roots can be traced back to Chinese short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou. After being recognised by the country’s broadcast regulator in 2020, the format exploded, monetising the habit of TikTok and Reels users – especially female between 25-40 – to consume vertical, short-form video.
“The first wave out of China went to overseas Chinese-language audiences,” says Cassandra Yang, the Shanghai-based co-founder and CEO of content licensing company RisingJoy, which is the presenter of AACA’s inaugural microdrama award.
“Then, the standalone microdrama apps started dubbing and subtitling hit titles for English-speaking audiences and spent aggressively on US app-store advertising to acquire users directly.
“After proving that the appetite for microdrama is not culturally specific to China, it has triggered a second wave of locally shot, locally cast productions across the US, Latin America, Southeast Asia and beyond.”
She notes that China’s short-drama market is worth around $7bn a year with more than 660 million viewers, while the overseas market is predicted to grow from $2.7bn to $9.5bn by 2031. “The centre of gravity is shifting from China outward,” she says.
With such exponential growth, RisingJoy is moving into original production and through RJOY – a new direct-to-consumer microdrama streaming service – ramping up its activities in the US and Japan, the two largest markets for microdrama revenue outside China.
Moving beyond the conventional
Southeast Asia is also emerging as a major growth region. Malaysian broadcaster Astro seized the opportunity with the launch of Sooka Shorts on its streaming platform last December, which has since generated more than 54 million social views.
“It’s a natural progression for us,” says Astro’s head of content Agnes Rosario. “We didn’t have to build a new platform from scratch but leverage Sooka’s existing streaming infrastructure, audience/Gen Z relationships and content discovery capabilities to bring the format to market.”
Astro treats the initiative as not simply bringing a global entertainment trend to Malaysia or replicating what has worked overseas. “We’re giving it a distinctly Malaysian identity,” she adds. “Our ambition is to develop a sustainable local microdrama ecosystem where Malaysian stories and talent can thrive. Localisation is becoming a key differentiator as the market matures.”
The growing range of local stories that Astro has brought to audiences through Sooka Shorts include Mak Kau CEO Aku, Gadis Dihina Pemilik Empayar, Mandrem and Kak Juriah Sayang Salleh.
Aside from subscription revenue, Astro is seeing exciting possibilities for brands. “Microdrama allows advertisers to move beyond conventional advertising and become part of the storytelling itself through sponsorship, branded content and product integration,” says Rosario. “Entertainment and commercial partnerships can come together in a meaningful way.”
Testing ground
Microdrama may be seen as competition with cinemas, particularly among young audiences who consume a vast amount of content on mobile devices.
However, RisingJoy’s Yang believes: “It’s an extremely cheap, extremely fast way to test which genres, tropes and even actors actually connect with an audience before anyone commits a theatrical or premium TV budget to them. It is a proving ground for cinema and TV alike, and an early-warning signal for what audiences want next.”
The seven titles in the best microdrama category are among 335 National Winners from 18 countries and region in Asia Pacific and across 39 categories in film, TV and digital content vying for AACA’s final awards, which will take place on December 3 in Singapore.
AACA was founded by Melbourne-born Michael McKay, known as a reality show director and executive producer on series such as The Amazing Race Australia, winner of an International Emmy and Australian Academy Award.
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