"Emily is a college student by day, but she works the night shift at the strip club to pay her tuition - she doesn't think anyone will find out her secret, until one day, her mysterious English teacher shows up! Did he recognize her? Will her secret get out? Pay 60 "tokens" to see what happens next, or you can watch an ad, or... just buy a VIP pass for $20 per week and skip the ads altogether."
"It's surprising to see short-form, scripted drama apps achieve such success when we're only five years removed from the implosion of Quibi. Quibi wanted to be like Netflix, but with ten-minute episodes that were designed to be watched on the go. Founded by Dreamworks co-founder and former Disney chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, Quibi raised more than $1.75 billion in funding from major Hollywood studios, then created shows with stars like Liam Hemsworth, Reese Witherspoon, and Anna Kendrick."
Microdrama apps deliver minute-long, pulpy scripted episodes with exaggerated plots and often cringeworthy acting. These shows monetize through microtransactions (tokens), ad-supported viewing, and VIP subscriptions that remove ads. ReelShort reached roughly $1.2 billion in gross consumer spending in 2025, up 119% from 2024, while DramaBox earned $276 million last year, more than doubling its prior-year revenue. TikTok launched a standalone microdrama app, PineDrama, and GammaTime raised $14 million from investors including Alexis Ohanian, Kris Jenner, and Kim Kardashian. The surge follows the failure of Quibi, which raised $1.75 billion yet failed to gain an audience.
Read at TechCrunch
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