Quibi Died. Can Microdramas Live?

reelshort microdramas
Together, the top 20 microdrama apps reportedly have 250 million monthly active users, which includes 10 percent of smartphone owners in the U.S., now the largest market for these videos outside the Asia Pacific region. Photo: Courtesy of ReelShort
Julia Alexander
November 14, 2025

Join Puck to listen to this article

The only force in Hollywood more powerful than ego may be FOMO. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos is experimenting with video podcasts after watching how they took over YouTube. Disney’s Bob Iger wants to build digital theme parks in Fortnite so he doesn’t miss out on another time sink. Tubi’s Anjali Sud is building a shortform vertical app to stave off TikTok. And then there’s microdramas…