Las Vegas, NV (April 22, 2026)— One of the hottest content formats is growing so quickly that it doesn’t even have an agreed-upon name yet: It’s variously known as microdramas, microseries or sometimes just verticals.
If consensus is out on the name, there’s no questioning that the burgeoning format—low-budget series intended for viewing in the vertical orientation—is finding audiences where they live: on their phones.
The speakers at “Microdramas: The 60-Second Surge” panel in the West Hall’s Media and Entertainment Theater on Monday provided not only expert insight but brought a bit of drama themselves. Two panelists—Jana Winograde and Susan Rovner, upper echelon industry veterans of traditional Hollywood—announced that their company, MicroCo, has been rebranded as aTwist.
“We’re really trying to differentiate ourselves in the space and create a place for fans that is fun and energetic, and that you want to return to over and over again,” said Winograde, CEO of aTwist and formerly with Showtime Networks and ABC. “We’re microseries, but with a twist.”
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Noting that “traditional Hollywood is very much in a moment of contraction,” Rovner, a former NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Television executive, said that she and Winograde were attracted to the format.
“There was so much about it that reminded us of our beginning days in Hollywood, and the risk was lower, because the cost is lower. When traditional Hollywood suddenly is spending $80 million for one series … the barrier to entry and the barrier to take a risk is so high, it stops being as fun,” Rovner said. “So for us, this really felt like a place of growth, where we can make fantastic shows that we’re really proud of and really build something together.”
The format is making inroads quickly, said moderator Natalie Jarvey, editor of industry newsletter Like & Subscribe. Microseries first developed in Asia but are catching on in the Americas. Some estimates put revenues at $11 billion last year. The format may not have name talent or large budgets yet, but with that kind of momentum it does have eyeballs.
“This isn’t something that’s just a fad,” said Erin McFarlane, head of vertical content at Dhar Mann Studios, which just struck a deal to produce 40 microseries for Fox Entertainment. “It’s made with intentionality for fans and fits a mold of something that we saw missing from Hollywood for a long time: content really geared toward female audiences.”
NOT TRADITIONAL TV
One thing the format is not, said Second Rodeo Productions CEO Scott Brown, is traditional television: “I’ve always said to our teams—and I’m not saying this is easy—but we’re not trying to make a Netflix show in a vertical aspect ratio; we’re trying to make a great vertical series.”
Brown screened a trailer for “Playback,” a musical drama series he directed that debuted last weekend on the MyDrama platform. Totaling 100 minutes, the series counts comedian Hannah Stocking and America’s Next Top Model winner Sophie Sumner among its cast members.
Brown also courted controversy, stating that if microseries are going to work with unions, unions are going to have to accommodate the format.
“Creative people should have protections for them in a commercial art form,” Brown said. “Fundamentally, it makes sense; I think that’s important. But if we’re going to rely on business models that were successful in the 2000s to define the working practices of today, I think we’re going to encounter a lot of headwinds.
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“I support the idea of guilds and unions,” he continued. “But they’re going to have to change with the times. I think the Vertical agreement from [SAG-AFTRA] represents thoughtful thinking in that direction; we’ll see what others follow.”
