TikTok bets bigger on creator-led microdramas

TikTok is expanding its push into scripted vertical video. At MIPCOM Cannes, TikTok and Made By Us Studios, a content developer powered by creator-management company Made By All, announced a slate of creator-led micro-series for TikTok and its standalone microdrama app, PineDrama. Deadline first reported the deal on October 14.

The first two projects mix creators with established film talent. Player is a romantic revenge thriller starring creator and actress Hannah Stocking, who is also an executive producer and contributed to the script. The Knock is a genre series created and directed by R.H. Stavis, executive produced by Spooky Pictures, the company behind Paranormal Activity and Weapons, with Moby's Little Walnut Productions. It stars digital comedy performer Adam Rose opposite Zaria Simone, and Moby composed the music.

The slate follows Screen Time, a micro-series TikTok made with Issa Rae's Hoorae. Since its April launch it has drawn nearly 580 million views globally, which TikTok says makes it the top-performing show ever on TikTok and PineDrama. Dawn Yang, TikTok's global head of entertainment and micro-series, said the new slate puts "creators at the center, alongside established producers and industry talent."

The money behind the format is real. MediaPost, citing Business Insider, notes that soap opera-style microdramas generated $1.3 billion in the U.S. last year from direct viewer payments.

Why it matters: microdramas are turning into a paid acting and producing lane for creators who can carry a story, not just a format for anonymous actors. But Digiday has reported that creators' Hollywood-style deals can put their IP at risk, so read the ownership terms before you sign.