In a world filled with coldness and betrayal within the mafia, the male lead, in order to protect his family's interests, is engaged to a scheming second female lead, while the lowly-ranked female lead, pregnant with his child, is filled with despair and seeks to escape it all. However, when her life is threatened and the wheel of fate turns, the male lead suddenly appears, becoming her only hope and redemption...
In this suspenseful and tense confrontation, emotional entanglements grow more complicated, with truth and betrayal interwoven, and the boundary between love and hate becoming increasingly blurred. This is the plot of Mafia's Tender Torture, a self-produced drama by StardustTV, a short drama platform under Shanhai. With its captivating storyline and carefully planned release strategy, the drama won the top spot on the weekly short drama charts in both Southeast Asia and South Korea last month (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Poster of Mafia's Tender Torture
Chinese "Alpha Male" Short Dramas Conquer the World
Short dramas have become a significant trend in the Chinese entertainment industry in recent years. Typically, these short dramas are 1-2 minutes long per episode, with a total runtime of no more than one hour. They boast extremely high user engagement and completion rates. Particularly popular are sweet romance-themed short dramas centered around the "alpha male CEO falling in love with me" trope. For example, The Double Life of a Billionaire Husband has garnered 30 million views per episode on TikTok, with a total of 60 million views across its first 20 episodes. This phenomenon highlights how short dramas, characterized by their "short, fast, and satisfying" nature, effectively tap into the audience’s fragmented entertainment needs.
Since the second half of 2022, Chinese short dramas have begun expanding into international markets. Several short drama platforms launched overseas have quickly attracted large audiences, leveraging high-quality content and precise operational strategies. This has led to a global "alpha male" trend. Platforms such as ShortMax, DramaBox, MoboReels, StardustTV, and KDramaX have shown strong performance in regions like Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Overview of Leading Platforms for Chinese Short Dramas Expanding Overseas
Fengye Interactive was one of the first companies to enter the overseas short drama market, launching the ReelShort app in August 2022. The app performed exceptionally well in the U.S. market, even surpassing TikTok at one point to top the free entertainment charts on iOS. Its revenue in the U.S. App Store reached tens of millions of dollars. Jiuzhou Culture also launched ShortMax in September 2023. Thanks to precise market positioning and localized content design, ShortMax quickly achieved impressive results in the U.S. market. With a diverse range of genres, including romance, suspense, and time travel, along with original English-language series, the platform attracted nearly 5 million overseas users, with monthly active users reaching 1.5 million.
The two major platforms, DramaBox and MoboReels, have also made significant strides in overseas markets. Since its launch in April 2023, DramaBox has focused on Southeast Asian and Latin American markets, including Indonesia, Colombia, and Mexico. With its intuitive interface and rich content offerings, it has become particularly popular among young users, accumulating over 4 million downloads within six months and surpassing 1 million monthly active users. Meanwhile, MoboReels, by offering multi-language support and original content, rapidly established a strong presence in South Korea and has since expanded into other Asian and Western markets. The platform has now surpassed 3 million downloads, with over 800,000 monthly active users. Additionally, StardustTV (Shanhai Short Dramas), one of the early domestic platforms to enter international markets, has also performed well. It currently has over 3.5 million downloads in Southeast Asia, with 1.2 million monthly active users, primarily concentrated in Thailand and Malaysia (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Top 25 Domestic Short Drama Apps Expanding Overseas by Downloads/In-App Revenue (January-November)
The rise of short dramas in international markets is driven by the powerful commercial forces of low costs and high returns.
The Rise of Short Dramas Overseas: Driven by Low Costs and High Returns
Short dramas have a distinct advantage over traditional films and TV shows in terms of production costs. The production cost of a short drama typically ranges from $70,000 to $150,000 (around $150,000 in the U.S. and as low as $70,000 in Mainland China). When using translation and dubbing, the cost can be even lower, ranging from ¥20,000 to ¥50,000. This significant cost difference gives short dramas a competitive edge in global markets (see Figure 4).
Additionally, short dramas have a short production cycle (usually no more than two weeks) and streamlined production teams (around 30 people). For example, the werewolf-themed short drama Destined Alpha, based on a bestselling American novel, was filmed in New York and completed production in just half a month. It quickly grossed over $1 million at the box office. Short dramas demonstrate high efficiency at low cost, showcasing a greater potential for viral success compared to traditional film and television productions.
Figure 4: Short Dramas Have a Clear Advantage Over Traditional Films and TV Shows in Production Costs
In terms of returns, users typically pay between $10 and $30 to watch an entire short drama. Compared to the production costs of films or traditional long-form series, which often amount to tens of millions of dollars, the production of short dramas is highly efficient. At the same time, the 1-2 minute duration of each episode significantly boosts user engagement and retention rates through frequent plot twists and emotional conflicts.
Additionally, short dramas can quickly achieve commercialization through precise advertising strategies. For example, ReelShort’s advertising strategy in the U.S. directly reaches users through platforms like TikTok, helping to rapidly increase its downloads and revenue. In July 2023 alone, its in-app purchases reached $4.5 million, closely matching the $5 million in in-app purchases Netflix achieved in the U.S. during the same period. This highlights the enormous commercial potential of short dramas (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Cumulative Downloads of Short Drama Apps Expanding Overseas (March 2023 - February 2024) (Unit: 10,000 downloads)
The rise of the short drama trend overseas is driven not only by market demand but also by the accumulation of content and technology on the supply side.
Global Content Strategy: From Localization to "Cultural Hybridization"
From 2018 to 2024, short dramas in China underwent a process of "wild growth" followed by intense internal competition, laying a solid foundation of content and technology for their expansion overseas. In 2023, a total of 3,574 short drama projects were planned and recorded, with 584 projects launched, marking increases of 382.2% and 445.8%, respectively, compared to 2021. According to DataEye, in 2024, over 2 million production materials were used in domestic short dramas, with the amount of content launched in January alone increasing by 49% month-on-month. In this highly competitive environment, the production of short dramas has shifted from "low-cost, casual creation" to "high-end productions," with the cost per short drama rising from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of yuan. This upgrade has pushed Chinese short drama production companies to seek broader markets, particularly in Europe and North America, triggering a wave of short dramas expanding overseas.
The fierce competition in the domestic short drama market has driven companies to look to international markets as new growth opportunities. For example, ReelShort, owned by Zhongwen Online, launched in North America in 2022 and quickly became a representative platform for short dramas expanding overseas. In just two years, ReelShort has gained significant traction in the European and North American markets through localized production and precise advertising, directly competing with short video giants like TikTok. Its downloads and revenue now account for 52% and 48%, respectively, of the short drama overseas market, positioning it as a leader in this space (see Figure 5).
The accumulation of content by domestic online literature platforms has provided strong support for the supply of short drama content. As early as 2017-2018, Chinese online literature began to expand internationally, particularly with xianxia (cultivation) novels and "deceptive underdog" plotlines, which gained a large overseas following. For example, Dianzhong Technology quickly gained recognition by adapting popular online literature into short dramas, translating them, and launching them internationally. Public data shows that in 2024, Dianzhong Technology achieved a gross profit margin of 20%-30% in overseas markets—demonstrating that short dramas have become an important product for adapting online literature and expanding content ecosystems.
A key element behind the overseas success of short dramas is the localization of content and the optimization of production methods. Short drama platform companies not only translate domestic short drama works (such as Dianzhong Technology’s translation of micro-dramas, which achieved a high gross profit margin of 20%-30%) but have also started producing short dramas locally in Europe and North America to better adapt the content to local preferences. For example, ReelShort collaborates with Hollywood screenwriters and directors to complete filming and production locally in Europe and North America. This approach not only strengthens the relatability of the story but also reduces cultural barriers, enhancing the content's appeal to target audiences. Moreover, ReelShort chooses story themes that resonate with local users’ everyday experiences (such as romance and family themes favored by Western audiences), further narrowing the emotional distance between the content and viewers.
One of ReelShort’s popular short dramas in North America, Kami Alpha, was adapted from a bestselling European and American novel. Featuring a werewolf theme and a female coming-of-age story, it cleverly incorporates the cultural preferences of Western viewers. After its release, it performed exceptionally well in the North American market, attracting a large number of paying users (see Figure 6).
The success of this localization strategy has also gradually validated the commercial model of short dramas. In 2023, ReelShort's monthly revenue in the U.S. surpassed $4.5 million, matching Netflix's in-app purchase revenue for the same month. Despite significantly higher production costs in overseas markets (with each episode costing between $80,000 and $300,000), ReelShort still achieved profitability through the conversion of high-paying users.
Figure 6: Popular Short Dramas Produced by ReelShort, Source: The New York Times, ReelShort
In fact, the business model of short dramas in overseas markets relies on localized strategies tailored to different regional markets. The European and American markets demand higher cultural relatability, so short drama producers often use local teams for filming and production. Western audiences tend to prefer themes such as werewolves, vampires, and gangsters, while emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, and similar regions are more sensitive to content quality, with stronger cultural inclusivity. These audiences often have preferences similar to those in mainland China, with themes such as "dominant CEOs," "sweet romance," and "revenge" being especially popular. Additionally, North American users have higher purchasing power. After years of influence from platforms like HBO and Netflix, their willingness to pay for short dramas is also stronger. According to Sensor Tower data, ReelShort and DramaBox have an average per-download payment rate in the U.S. that is six times higher than in other markets.
Based on internal interviews and public data, there are three main localized operational models for short dramas going overseas. The first model is the "Translation + Dubbing" model. This method involves translating and dubbing domestic short dramas at a lower cost, allowing already established content to be introduced into overseas markets. It is particularly effective in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa, where high-quality, cost-effective translated dramas can quickly attract users, especially for genres like "sweet romance" and "revenge," which are very popular. The second model is the "Overseas Filming" model. This involves recruiting local directors, actors, and production teams to create short dramas that closely align with the cultural characteristics of the target market. This model is better suited for the European and American markets, as it combines localized storytelling with familiar settings, enhancing audience immersion and acceptance. The third model is the "Hybrid Model," where the script and part of the production are done in China, taking advantage of China's mature production resources, and filming is completed with overseas actors and in local settings. This model strikes a balance between controlling costs and enhancing content localization, making it suitable for markets that require both quality and budget considerations.
Technology and Platform Dual-Drive: The Transformation of Traffic Strategy and User Habits
The rise of short video platforms (such as Douyin/TikTok and Kuaishou/Kwai) has provided crucial distribution channels and traffic support for the global expansion of short dramas. Streaming platforms, powered by algorithm-driven precise recommendations, have enabled short dramas, in the form of micro-videos, to be accurately targeted at the intended audience, greatly enhancing the efficiency of audience reach. This is because the production model of short dramas is highly compatible with the attributes of short video platforms: each episode lasts only 1-2 minutes and typically focuses on high-energy plots or conflicts, quickly capturing the audience's attention to improve retention rates. With the traffic advantage of streaming platforms, short dramas can quickly reach a large user base at a low cost. Additionally, the support of streaming platforms for instant content loading and personalized distribution has made short drama delivery even more efficient. Short dramas, with their fragmented narrative structure and convenient content distribution mechanisms, are deeply integrated into users' consumption habits, especially among younger viewers, gradually cultivating the habit of watching short dramas.
Regarding operational strategies, the combination of short dramas with short video platforms has also fostered new business models. Some leading short drama platforms integrate content forms such as web novels, games, and interactive fiction. By adapting web novel IPs into short dramas to attract viewers, they drive traffic back to the original works or related games. For instance, ReelShort leverages the traffic base of web novel IPs to attract audiences to its short drama platform and, through the dramatic potential of these stories, further directs viewers to other content platforms. This bidirectional content flow model enhances the synergy between platforms.
Furthermore, the development of emerging technologies has introduced new tools and methods for short drama production and distribution. The application of AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) and large language models in the short drama industry includes intelligent dubbing, character face-swapping, and plot generation. These technological advancements have significantly improved production efficiency and reduced costs. Additionally, 5G and cloud computing technologies provide faster transmission speeds and higher-quality video support for short drama distribution. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) has also introduced new narrative dimensions, expanding the user experience.
Technological innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration are propelling short dramas toward deeper integration and innovation. Currently, the fusion of short dramas with other entertainment forms has become a prominent trend in China, especially with the rise of the "game + short drama" model. This model combines the fast-paced narrative nature of short dramas with the interactivity of games. For example, Mini World adapts into a short drama that presents the game's world-building, character backgrounds, and key plot elements to users. This allows players to not only interact within the game but also gain a deeper understanding of the characters' stories and emotional relationships through the short drama, thus enhancing their connection with and interest in the game. Cross-domain IP integration has also introduced elements from literature, music, and other fields into the short drama ecosystem. In the future, it is impossible to predict what new developments overseas short dramas may bring.
Can Short Dramas Become the "Next TikTok" Phenomenon?
In November 2023, when Reelshort, a short drama app under the Chinese company Zhongwen Online, rose to the top of the Apple App Store’s free apps chart, The Economist published an article titled "Reelshort: China’s Latest Export to Conquer the U.S."
According to Sensor Tower data, between 2023 and 2024, over 40 short drama apps ventured into the overseas market, with cumulative downloads reaching nearly 55 million and revenue hitting $170 million. From the current market share overseas, the global expansion of short dramas is still in its rapid growth phase. (Figure 7)
Figure 7: Market Share of Chinese Short Dramas Overseas
This raises the question: could short dramas, in the future, become the "next TikTok" phenomenon, consistently capturing the attention of global users?
Previously, TikTok released the popular short drama The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband, which achieved a viewership of 60 million for the first 20 episodes, with a peak of over 30 million views per episode. One viewer commented, "The more outrageous the plot, the more willing I am to pay for it." The plots of short dramas are often simple and exaggerated, particularly excelling in delivering intense emotional stimulation through frequent twists and turns. It is precisely the "heart-wrenching moments," "plot twists," and "intense conflicts" in short dramas that offer modern viewers a quick mental escape.
The rapid global success of short dramas can be attributed to their ability to tap into the most basic and universal human emotions, aligning with the cultural psychology and entertainment needs of audiences in different regions. Whether it’s female-oriented short dramas like "The Ugly Duckling Turns Into a Swan" and "The Rich Heiress Seeks Revenge", or male-oriented ones like "The Poor Guy Who Dominates the City" and "The Hero Saves the Beauty and Achieves Revenge", these stories reflect the evolving entertainment culture of global society and are closely tied to the socio-economic contexts of regions such as Europe, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. Rather than saying that short dramas have taken the world by storm, it’s more accurate to say that the global market has chosen short dramas—content that caters to the emotional needs of the masses, which is continually produced on an industrial scale to achieve both cultural adaptation and commercial success.
Picture Source: Visual China