TikTok Is Betting Big on Vertical Micro-Series

Vertical Micro-Series are having a moment — and TikTok just placed a bigger bet on them. The company announced a multi-year partnership with Made By Us Studios to co-produce creator-led vertical series for TikTok and its microdrama app, PineDrama, during its presentation at MIPCOM Cannes in mid-October, according to TheWrap. The deal gives TikTok exclusive rights to a slate of scripted shows built for the phone screen, with popular creators in the lead roles.

The debut slate starts with two series. “Player” is a romantic revenge thriller starring comedy creator Hannah Stocking, who counts nearly thirty million followers, co-wrote the story and serves as an executive producer. The series was produced by Jonas Barnes, written by Arun Blair-Mangat and Chela Reyna, and directed by Louiza Zouzias. “The Knock” is a genre series starring creator Adam Rose, who has seven million followers, opposite Zaria Simone, known from Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. It was created and directed by R.H. Stavis and executive produced by Spooky Pictures — the company behind Paranormal Activity and Weapons — in collaboration with Moby’s Little Walnut Productions, with Moby scoring the series.

Why TikTok wants scripted shows in your feed

The numbers behind the push are striking. According to eMarketer, the number of US microdrama viewers on dedicated apps is forecast to more than double between 2026 and 2028, reaching ten point eight million. Sensor Tower data shows that daily mobile viewing time on microdrama apps like ReelShort now exceeds that of Netflix, Disney and Prime Video. Short dramas posted about ninety-six percent year-over-year growth in app downloads — the fastest of any app category — per an August report from Mintegral cited by eMarketer, and they were the only app category to more than double in both active advertisers and ad creative output.

TikTok has its own proof point. “Screen Time,” the micro-series from Issa Rae’s HOORAE that launched on TikTok and PineDrama in April, has pulled in nearly five hundred and eighty million views globally, which TikTok calls the top-performing show ever across both platforms. “Micro-series are pioneering a new language of storytelling,” said Dawn Yang, TikTok’s global head of entertainment and micro-series. “We’re thrilled to partner with MADE BY US on a slate that puts creators at the center, alongside established producers and industry talent, to tell stories designed for the feed from the start.”

Hollywood and the creator economy keep merging

Made By Us Studios launched in May as the production arm of Made By All, a Los Angeles creator management company that represents forty creators with a combined reach topping one and a half billion followers. It is co-led by Tanya Cohen — who previously helped build the film and TV division at Range Media Partners and became the youngest partner in William Morris Endeavor’s history, earning spots on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and THR 35 Under 35 lists — alongside founder Leanne Perice and president of production Nic Stanish. The studio works with high-profile creators including Teyana Taylor, King Bach and Josh Peck, reported NetInfluencer.

The deal is also a sign that vertical series are becoming a real industry lane rather than a TikTok experiment. Days earlier, Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat signed a vertical-series deal with Fox, and SuperLab premiered a TikTok microseries called Caldwell Academy. For creators, the model offers something genuinely new: leading roles in scripted shows and, in some cases, a stake in the underlying IP — a different economic deal from the brand sponsorships that have defined the creator economy so far.

Not everyone is convinced phone-first soaps can take on the streamers — vertical series still fight for prestige, and viewers burned by cliffhanger paywalls may stay wary. But the viewing data says the audience is already there, and TikTok is now buying the supply to match it. Vertical Micro-Series are no longer a side bet; they are the format TikTok is building its next act around.

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