Pay-to-view shortform serials called "microdramas" are exploding across Chinese social media platforms. The multi-billion-dollar industry has already caught the attention of Chinese censors, who have introduced regulations to keep online content in line with "national interests."
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00:00Inside the walls of a medieval castle, a pivotal moment in this new form of melodrama, as actor
00:10Zhu Jian, in the role of a powerful patriarch, steps in to restore order.
00:18Given the scale of the production, you could be forgiven for thinking this is the set of
00:22a high-budget movie, but in fact, Zhu is shooting for microdrama series Grandma's Moon, one
00:28of countless examples of a new short-form video medium that's taking Chinese social
00:32media by storm.
00:49That appetite for snappy, short-form media has led to the rise of a multi-billion dollar
00:54industry in China, with a unique approach to monetization.
01:22This new medium is attracting some big names, including Hong Kong director Stephen Chow
01:26of Kung Fu Hustle fame, who brought together Chinese comedy giants for his microdrama series
01:31Take Me Home.
01:35But the sudden rise of microdramas has caught the attention of the Chinese government, always
01:39wary of the new, and apparently threatened by the medium's tendency toward melodrama.
01:44They've already told producers to take it down a notch.
01:59Those regulations require all microdramas to be licensed, and bar content considered
02:04pornographic, violent, or spreading what the government considers wrong views on marriage
02:09and love.
02:11These echo limitations on other forms of media in China, which are forbidden to promote alternative
02:15relationships that might deviate from the mainstream value orientation of society, including
02:22same-sex relationships.
02:32For actors like Zhu Jian, though, the industry has offered exciting new opportunities.
02:37And with some estimates saying the industry could more than double in value by 2027, it
02:42looks like microdramas may only get bigger.
02:46Fu Hua Hong, Luffy Lee, Reese Ayres, and Eric Gao for Taiwan Plus.