In China, a New Story Form Explodes in Popularity

China's latest binge habit doesn't come in hour-long chunks—it arrives two minutes at a time. Lavender Au of the Dial dives into the booming world of "short dramas," bite-size series that 215 million people in China watch daily, often on commutes or coffee breaks. One hit, "Don't Mess with a Chubby Empress," manages to work in time travel, revenge, and romance, quickly. "Short dramas are about big emotions and dramatic reversals; the heroes and villains are generally clearly delineated," writes Au. "They rely on formulas of hook (often within the first three seconds), plot twist, and cliffhanger." And the formula works: Roughly 33,000 were released in China in 2025, powering a market now worth $13.8 billion.

Au explains how the genre is an outgrowth of sorts from the serialization phenomenon popularized by web novels—only now, the form has been turned into video. "A short drama is a deconstructed story, rebuilt from what triggers the most emotional response," writes Au. The genre relies on ruthless data analytics and, increasingly, on AI—over 122,000 AI-generated dramas went online in early 2025. Regulators are scrambling to catch up, platforms are culling "bad values" and plagiarized content, and fans are both hooked and uneasy about how mindless the viewing can feel. Just don't be surprised if the story form starts catching on in the US, too. Read the full story.