China Cracked the 90-Second Drama. Now it's Taking Over American Phones. | WSJ

The Wall Street Journal gained behind-the-scenes access to the set of “Vicious,” a microdrama produced by ReelShort, the app at the center of a short-form video boom. These 90-second dramas draw millions of U.S. viewers, and ReelShort briefly rivaled TikTok for the top spot on the U.S. App Store. We explain how this bite-sized storytelling model is disrupting the American streaming landscape and challenging established platforms like Netflix. Chapters: 0:00 Microdramas, explained 0:46 How it started and why people watch 2:27 The economics of microdramas 5:09 The creative aspect 6:54 What’s next? News Explainers Some days the high-speed news cycle can bring more questions than answers. WSJ’s news explainers break down the day's biggest stories into bite-size pieces to help you make sense of the news. #China #Film #WSJ