Micro drama, a new form of entertainment is becoming increasingly popular in China.
By Isa He
University student, Zhuang Yan, is an avid fan of micro dramas and spends at least five hours watching them weekly.
“I like watching dramatic micro dramas, where mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can become romantic rivals,” the Year Four student majoring in Integrated BBA says.
Micro dramas, or short dramas, typically featuring 50 to 100 episodes in a series with each episode lasting between two to five minutes, captivate her with cliffhangers and constant unexpected turn of events.
“Compared to conventional dramas, micro dramas are funnier, and the pace is faster so that they waste less of my time,” the 22-year-old girl adds.
Another notable characteristic is their vertical screen format, which closely resembles short videos, enhancing phone user’s viewing experience.
“It’s more convenient for me because they can be watched in portrait mode on my smartphone, so I don’t need to rotate the screen orientation,” Zhuang adds.
Zhuang’s interest in micro dramas started last summer when she came across micro drama advertisements while browsing Douyin, a mainland Chinese short video platform.
“There are lots of twists and suspense, leading me to wonder what the plots are. That’s how I first got hooked,” she says.
Another short drama fan, Cai Hanjun, also learnt about micro dramas through advertisements on Douyin.
“I love drama about a protagonist who is betrayed in her past life and has a second chance to take revenge on enemies, and finally win a perfect man’s heart,” the 20-year-old university student says.
“I know it’s trashy. But then that’s why I love it. They are so addictive just like novels,” she adds.
Compared to TV dramas, micro dramas are sold by episode. On average, the cost of each episode ranges from a few cents to RMB ¥2 (US $0.28) or RMB ¥3 (US $0.41).
As of June 2024, the number of users for Chinese micro dramas reached 576 million, accounting for 52.7 percent of the total internet users in the country, even surpassing the user base for online food delivery services, according to the China Netcasting Services Association (CNSA).
The market size of Chinese micro drama in 2024 has reached RMB ¥50.40 billion (US $6.93 billion), exceeding the box office of Chinese movies for the first time, according to White Paper on Micro-Short Drama Industry 2024 published by DataEye, a Chinese mobile advertising big data intelligence analytics company.
Lin Jian, an assistant professor from the Journalism and Communication School of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, explains micro dramas are popular now because they are very similar to short videos that many people watch in TikTok.
“On the other hand, compared to most of those short videos, they are more professional and refined with more completed and coherent stories like fiction or movies,” he says.
Professor Lin adds micro dramas are full of dramatic twists and turns in a short period of time in order to boost viewing.
“These fast-paced dramas filled with thrilling plots, which might lead viewers to favour quick, highly entertaining content more and more,” he adds.
Lin is concerned by such a trend. “When users prefer to consume a cultural product which continuously stimulates people’s senses and emotions, might the more reflective aspects of culture that provoke deeper thought gradually diminish?” he says.
He believes the industry will develop in two extreme directions in the future.
“Some top companies may start to focus on producing high-quality and premium micro dramas, while others may continue making controversial or borderline practices, or so-called ‘gray area’ dramas,” he adds.
Edited by Celina Lu
Sub-edited by Lunaretta Linaura
