 |
TellyCast: The content industry podcastAuthor: Justin Crosby
A weekly podcast featuring opinionated international content industry business leaders joining Justin Crosby to discuss the week's top industry news stories. In each episode we discuss key business developments around the world and look forward to the big moments in the week ahead. New episode every Thursday. Language: en-us Genres: Film Interviews, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
Micro Drama, Vertical Storytelling and the New Scripted Economy
Episode 258
Wednesday, 21 January, 2026
Micro drama is one of the fastest-growing scripted formats in global digital video, and UK producers are only just beginning to understand its scale, speed and commercial potential.In this episode of TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by micro drama producer Samantha Sun from ReelForce to unpack how vertical, app-based scripted series really work. Samantha shares her journey from early Chinese-backed micro drama platforms to producing some of the biggest-budget vertical dramas made in the UK, and explains why this format is not a downgrade from television, but a fundamentally different production and monetisation model.The conversation explores how micro drama platforms acquire audiences through social video, why the first ten episodes matter more than anything else, how payment and revenue-share models actually function, and what UK TV producers often misunderstand when they approach the space with traditional assumptions.Samantha also addresses talent, diversity, AI in post-production, genre limitations, audience behaviour, and why micro drama is attracting serious attention from Hollywood, platforms, brands and investors. This is an essential listen for producers, commissioners, and digital-first studios trying to understand where scripted content is heading next.Sign up for The Drop newsletterSupport the showEnrol on the TellyCast Digital Bootcamp Buy tickets to How to Make Money in Digital Enter the Digital Video Awards Subscribe to the TellyCast YouTube channel for exclusive TV industry videosFollow us on LinkedInConnect with Justin on LinkedINTellyCast videos on YouTubeTellyCast websiteTellyCast instaTellyCast TwitterTellyCast TikTok
