Chinese mini dramas are pulling in micro-bingeing Gen Z viewers A new wave of binge-worthy entertainment is taking over Gen Z’s screens, and it’s not coming from Netflix or HBO. Enter: mini dramas. The bite-sized, vertically-shot soap operas originated in China, but are quickly gaining traction among Gen Z viewers in the U.S. Unlike traditional TV, mini dramas are designed to be watched on phones and streamed on social viewing apps like ReelShort and DramaBox. Each episode runs just a minute or two, but what they lack in length they make up for in drama. The content is reminiscent of telenovelas with their “cheesy romance, over-the-top drama and abundant cliff-hangers,” leaning into classic drama tropes like CEO romances, secret identities, and revenge plots, which has many young viewers hooked with its “hilariously bad, oddly addictive” quality. Popular titles like The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband or Fake Married to My CEO play out across dozens of micro-episodes that, stitched together, create a movie-length soap viewers can binge in under...
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