In a bygone era, Rong Dai, an esteemed empress, fell victim to foul play. Awakening in 2023, she found she had become a modern-day magnate's wife, unloved by her husband. At an auction, Rong spent a hefty sum of her husband's money to reclaim a jade pendant—a cherished gift from her father thousands of years ago, and pledged to repay the money before concluding the loveless marriage.

With a mouth full of ancient proverbs, a penchant for finding novelty in everything, and a flair for confronting romantic rivals, the lady's transformed demeanor rekindled her husband's love for her. Additionally, her authentic portrayal of an empress during an audition earned her a spot in a play, leading to a successful career in drama. Rong reaped a double harvest of success in both love and career.

This is the plot of a breezy micro-series Zhu Yuqing, a 33-year-old Beijing-based interior designer, binge-watched recently—Oh My! The Empress Is Now on the Job! Digital-only micro-series, a recently prominent genre, is primarily consumed on mobile phones. Typically spanning between 50 and 100 episodes, each lasting under two minutes, these low-budget productions make use of fast-paced narratives. They are characterized by strong theatricality and condensed yet suspenseful storylines, featuring a cascade of unexpected twists.

"As well as mocking the seemingly silly performances of some actors and dismissing the script as overly cheesy and clichéd, I couldn't help but predict every turn of the plot. Surprisingly, even with this awareness, I found myself irresistibly hooked," Zhu told Beijing Review. "While many argue that micro-series are tailored for bite-sized moments, I watched the entire show in one sitting, completing it in less than two hours."

Zhu is not alone being engaged by micro-series. As the audience continues to grow, micro-series are gaining momentum in China and even extending their influence beyond borders.

Horizontal to vertical

"I'm not the first person I know to watch micro-series," Zhu said. "Previously, my mom enjoyed reading and listening online novels on her smartphone in her leisure time. Later on, I found her watching micro-series."

Originally, Zhu believed the micro-series were merely entertaining housewives like her mother, until she found related topics had gone viral on social media. She decided to give them a try.

Zhu discovered that in addition to a time travel themed series she watched, other plotlines such as a deliveryman transforming into a domineering CEO, an heir to a conglomerate becoming a son-in-law in a primitive tribe, and a wealthy heiress turning into a maid seeking revenge are also quite attractive.

"Now, it seems reasonable that more and more people are hooked on these series. It's all about throwing your brain away while watching, keeping only your eyes, and indulging in mindless laughter," Zhu said.

Guo Tao, an angel investor and senior digital platform expert, told Beijing Review that as technology advances and consumer preferences evolve, short videos have emerged as a primary means for people to gather information and find entertainment, perfectly suited to the fast-paced lifestyle of modern society. "The low production costs and swift online release of micro-series enable rapid iteration, generating a wealth of premium content that caters to diverse audience needs. These factors collectively explain the explosive popularity of micro-series," he said.

Generally, the first few episodes of a series are available for free, with payment required for the later episodes. Watching an entire series typically costs from tens to a couple of hundred yuan, in some cases exceeding the cost of watching a movie in a cinema.

It's reported that the micro-series Zhu enjoyed amassed over 12 million yuan ($1.68 million) from paid subscribers within the initial 24 hours of its online release. Another suspense micro-series named Unparalleled, costing less than 500,000 yuan ($69,957) to make, exceeded 100 million yuan ($13.99 million) in subscription revenue within the first eight days of its online release.

Guolian Securities projects the market of micro-series will exceed 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in 2023, equating to approximately 66 percent of the domestic box office revenue in 2022. After just a couple of years, the micro-series market is on track toward a scale that took the film industry several decades to attain.

According to market consultancy iiMedia Research's latest report, 150 micro-series were released on online platforms in the third quarter of 2023 alone, nearly twice the total for entire 2022. With the continuous surge in new scripts, many directors and actors have ventured into shooting micro-series. China's most renowned film and television base, Hengdian (where heng means horizontal in Chinese), has earned the nickname "Shudian" (where shu means vertical in Chinese) due to its saturation with micro-series shooting crews and because micro-series are shot vertically.

Playwright and director Xiang Kai told Beijing Review that micro-series productions often operate on a filming schedule of seven to 10 days. Presently, dozens of micro-series crews are filming each day in Hengdian.

Zhang Yi, iiMedia Research's chief analyst, said in an interview with Beijing-based newspaper China Times that the frenzy around micro-series suggests, following the explosive growth of short videos, there is a need for narrative-driven mini-drama series to meet the evolving demands of today's audiences.

Going global

The "vertical revolution" has also made waves overseas. ReelShort, a micro-series app, can be described as another phenomenal Chinese app to break the international market, standing alongside short video platform TikTok and e-commerce platform Temu. On November 11, ReelShort secured a spot in the top three on the Apple App Store rankings in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. It also entered the top 10 in the entertainment app charts in 114 countries and regions.

Owned by Crazy Maple Studio, a Californian subsidiary of Chinese digital publisher COL Group, ReelShort was launched in August 2022. As of November this year, according to the overseas business and technology media outlet TechCrunch, the app had accumulated 11 million downloads on iOS and Android, generating a net income of $22 million.

Unlike the earlier awkward translations of Chinese micro-series, the current wave of popular overseas micro-series features authentic Western accents and faces, produced by local crews. However, the storylines surprisingly resemble Chinese online novels.

Guo sees tremendous potential for the international expansion of Chinese micro-series. He said the market is experiencing rapid growth domestically, which creates an abundant source of content, and micro-series have become instrumental for their releasing platforms to expand their user pools, develop e-commerce business and increase advertising revenue. These successes will serve as valuable case studies for the overseas production and release of micro-series.

He also cautioned that going global requires consideration of cultural differences, regulatory environment and other issues. The key to the successful international expansion of Chinese micro-series producers lies in creating and promoting localized content while adhering to local laws and regulations.

On the right track

The explosive growth of the micro-series market has also led to issues such as violent and obscene content, drawing regulatory attention. On November 15, the China Netcasting Services Association published an article stating that the National Radio and Television Administration will carry out a monthly campaign to regulate the industry and will accelerate the formulation of detailed regulations for the creation, production and content review of micro-series.

Zhu noticed that many micro-series have been pulled offline recently, including some previously popular ones.

"Some producers and platforms approach micro-series as an art form with social responsibility, while others, seeking quick money, view them as a tool for commercial gain. In micro-series production, there are tendencies toward anti-intellectualism and vulgarity," said Sun Chengjian, a senior researcher with the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Xiang pointed out that the involvement of investors seeking excessive profits have led micro-series astray from the content-driven track. He said if this situation persists, the outlook for international expansion of the industry would be grim, as high-quality content remains the cornerstone of this cultural export.

"I see micro-series as an innovative model in the content industry that deserves encouragement," Zhu said. Challenges are intrinsic to the development of anything new, and overcoming them is an inevitable step for the industry's healthy growth, according to her.

"I anticipate witnessing more high-quality Chinese micro-series gaining international attention and appreciation," Zhu concluded. BR

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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