Chinese ‘vertical dramas’ are booming in America. Should Hollywood be worried?

In a leafy Los Angeles garden, a mafia boss dressed in a flamboyant white suit stands at an altar, shooting wildly into the rows of seats in front of him as his guests dive for cover.

The wedding has been infiltrated by a team of assassins, but the young don is not going down without a fight. He continues to fire at his enemies, using his body to shield his petite bride from the flying bullets.

“Cut!” director Xiang Sining cheerfully shouts from behind the monitor. That’s a wrap for Kidnapped by the Mafia, a romantic drama that went on to become a hit after its release in late June.

Xiang is part of a wave of Chinese filmmakers that are enjoying a meteoric rise in America as pioneers of “vertical dramas” – a new format that essentially tries to reimagine television for the TikTok generation.

Vertical dramas – also known as micro dramas – are scripted shows that are divided into bite-size episodes, each lasting just a minute or two, with the scenes normally shot in a vertical format in the manner of a TikTok or Instagram Reel.

The dramas are engineered to give viewers a quick dopamine hit. The storylines are fast-paced, melodramatic, and crammed with werewolves, evil stepmothers and brooding billionaire husbands. Episodes frequently climax in a screeching plot twist.