Press
What is ReelShort? Meet the Chinese popular streaming app
Chinese apps are exporting the country's vertical streaming industry by making werewolf series in the U.S. Streaming app ReelShort ranked as the top-downloaded iOS app in the U.S. for three consecutive days in November.
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Minute-Long Soap Operas Are Here. Is America Ready?
Popularized in China during the pandemic, ReelShort and other apps are hoping to bring minute-by-minute melodramas to the United States.
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Werewolf Billionaire CEO Husbands Are Taking Over Hollywood
Apps like ReelShort are raking in tens of millions of dollars with series like Fated to My Forbidden Alpha.
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Are Vertical Shows Taking Over Hollywood? With Kasey Esser
Actor, writer and business owner Kasey Esser chats about how vertical web series are changing Hollywood, the importance of a business mindset, and how to pave your way in the industry.
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As China's vertical dramas charm US, soft-influence exports offer risks, rewards
Facing oversaturation in China, short-form video companies are finding lucrative new markets abroad, even amid geopolitical tensions.
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Kasey Esser Makes His Mark
Get to know the actor and writer known as the breakout star of the verticals industry.
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Microdramas are Minting New Six-Figure Careers: 'Faster You Can Get in, the Better'
The genre's top exec and star on how writers, actors, and agents can tap into a (non-union) $5B Gold Rush.
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Episode 3 - Kasey Esser
This week, we sit down with Kasey Esser — star of the brand-new vertical drama Love in the Shadows, owner of his own gym, and all-around force in the acting world.
Read article →Spicy and pricey vertical mini-dramas are taking over streaming
Streaming apps that charge $20 a week for absurd, 60-second soap operas are winning audiences and challenging Hulu and Paramount+.
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A 60-Min. Microdrama, $100K Budget, $1M Sale? I Got the Scoop on Set
Top star Kasey Esser's Love Under Fire is the white-hot genre's first indie production, now made with Hollywood money, and I was there.
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From Viral Roles to Producing: Kasey Esser on Shaping the Future of Vertical Dramas
Kasey Esser discusses his journey from viral vertical drama roles to producing, and how he's helping shape the future of the format.
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TikTok, BuzzFeed Jump Into the Microdrama Race
Creators rush in to seize the format before Hollywood does. Plus: I scoop news about genre star Kasey Esser.
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Making the First Action Vertical: How Kasey Esser is Pioneering His Own IP for Vertical MicroDramas
What happens when you take action storytelling vertical? Kasey Esser is building the blueprint for creator-owned micro-dramas.
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Markiplier to Microdramas: The Ankler x NAB Show's Future of Entertainment
The Iron Lung director, M3GAN screenwriter Akela Cooper, Kasey Esser and stars from Hollywood's next frontiers take the stage.
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Multi-series microdramas project headed for Louisiana and there's a Hollywood titan involved
These short-form shows with minute-long episodes are designed to be watched on a phone held upright. They could help revive Louisiana's film industry.
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Top Gun Maverick's Tommy Harper teams up with Vertical's hottest star, Kasey Esser for LOVE UNDER FIRE
A behind-the-scenes look at how an indie microdrama attracted Hollywood-level talent and what it means for the future of the format.
Read article →A 'Star Wars' and 'Top Gun' producer is joining the micro drama craze. Read his pitch deck.
Franchise film producer Tommy Harper, whose credits include 'Star Wars' and 'Top Gun: Maverick,' is jumping from the big screen to the small screen with a new micro drama app.
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Kasey Esser talks about being a lead actor in the vertical drama industry
An in-depth conversation with one of vertical drama's most recognizable faces about the craft and the rise of a new storytelling format.
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