No title, theme or storyline seems too salacious in the current microdrama boom. Growing alongside the slate of headline grabbers is a move towards shows that keep their clothes on. 

If they aren’t exactly enamoured by the recent surge in headline-hogging porn-adjacent vertical video blockbusters, programmers and platforms in countries and regions that prioritise modesty are as keen as anyone to embrace the microdrama boom. 

How much less-extreme content is there amid the salacious themes and raunchy titles of mainstream vertical video catalogues? Quite a bit, it turns out. Plus, as the format takes hold, local producers are fast-tracking series of their own with built-in resonance. And one more thing: either they haven’t got to it yet, or censors are turning the same blind-ish eye to microdrama apps as they did to streaming platforms.   

In addition to testing original series, producers across Asia and the Middle East are creating a lively market for scripts – with built-in hooks and cliffhangers – to adapt to their own market tastes, says AR Asia Productions’ co-founder and CEO, Anne Chan. Domestic demand for locally relevant vertical series has already soared, driving up expectations and forecasts for the first half of 2026, Chan says.

Along with topics such as “The Rise of Ramadan Content: Capturing Global Audiences Through Cultural Narratives” and a deep dive into Arabic cinema, microdrama is a focus at the upcoming Dubai International Content Market (DICM) from 4-5 November. 

“There’s a misconception that microdramas are all raunchy – that’s not the case,” says COL Group’s Southeast Asia operations GM, Timothy Oh, who will be speaking at DICM. “Microdramas are evolving beyond romance and gaining traction across a diverse range of genres... We have a wide range of premium titles across many genres that are suitable for these markets,” he says. 

A random trawl through five of the most-talked-about microdrama platforms – FlareFlow, ReelShort, DramaBox, Sereal+ and Korean platform Vigloo – shows a wealth of storylines less likely to raise hackles.  

There’s time-travel fantasy romance, Dracula’s Kiss: Spellbound by a Doppelganger (Sereal+), for instance. The series is about a heartbroken woman who, seeking revenge, marries a man who turns out to be a vampire – only to find an 80-year-old photograph in his study that looks exactly like her. The same show has been made as Let Me Go, Mr. Dracula, with different talent and an adjusted script, for FlareFlow, a newer app from the COL Group. Another FlareFlow title is hidden-identity/revenge series Shoot At My Heart, about a wealthy man’s daughter who joins the police force after being saved by sniper Evan Wilson. When their paths cross again, Evan is down and out and homeless.

There’s also rags to riches culinary show Cooking My Way Back to Love (ReelShort) about a top chef who falls apart after his wife dies in a car accident, losing everything except his dog Dante, and the restaurant owner who gives him a job, not knowing who he is.
 The Invincible Bodyguard (DramaBox) is a hidden-identity tale (another favourite microdrama theme) about a security guard who unintentionally offends a billionaire heiress and risks exposing his own secret. 

And then there’s period fantasy romance Fate, The Servant of the Night, an original from Korean platform Vigloo. The 48-episode series is about a popular heartthrob who only has space in his heart for a girl in his dreams. When thugs kidnap his sister, his attempts to save her leads him into a complicated family revenge plot. Like all Vigloo Original series, Fate, The Servant of the Night is subtitled in Bahasa for Indonesian audiences, who are well used to strict censorship, as well as in Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic. 

Across all the microdrama apps on our radar, experimentation with different genres is clear. 

“We are constantly testing and experimenting with content types, including series targeting male audiences, sci-fi and more, COL’s Oh says. 

A priority market is Indonesia, with a population of about 286 million. The market already has telco-bundled third-party apps such as ShortMax and FlexTV, which are packaged with mobile data. The country’s leading streamer, Vidio, which has five million paying subscribers and 20% share of total premium VOD engagement, is also actively looking at adding vertical options to its entertainment platform. 

Among the series at the forefront of the Indonesian surge is original show Pura Pura Nika (My Fake Wedding), by Sharad Sharan for Sinemart Indonesia. The show, for Indonesian streaming platform Vidio, won ContentAsia’s 2025 Award for Best Micro-drama made in Asia.

Pura Pura Nika is about two people – both engaged to be married to others – paired up against their will in a reality-style draw where the winners get married on the spot. Against their better judgement, they play along, only to discover that the marriage certificate is real, and they now have to find a way out. 

In Malaysia, two Media Prima series that have planted a flag in the vertical space are Benci Jadi Cinta (Hate Turns to Love) set in a creative agency, and Keluarga Antara Insan (Together Like Family), about neighbours who consistently butt heads. Keluarga Antara Insan, created by Media Prima and Samsung Malaysia is part of the crucial conversation around brand integration in mobile-first vertical video. 

Across the causeway, where content codes are also on the stricter side, Singapore has found success with a lively vertical drama that is driving an uptick in interest among younger audiences in public service careers. 

Mediacorp’s 10-episode On The Line hit 12 million views across platforms – including TikTok – in its first four weeks. “There’s a strong appetite for this kind of storytelling,” says Loh Woon Woon, Mediacorp’s VP of Chinese Drama Productions, who describes the micro environment as a new creative playground for fresh voices. 

On The Line, released at the end of June, is about a team of young immigration officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) charged with protecting Singapore’s borders.

In the microdrama space, the impact of physical borders is not as clear. Many of the current series look American, but are created in China or Korea, driven by the willingness/ability of U.S. and Latin American users to pay something like US$40 a month per app. 

Meanwhile, language customisation is booming, adding to series travelability. Vigloo’s Japanese series The Burden of Beauty, Revenge Runway, is for instance, available with subtitles in eight languages. Mystery drama/comedy, Wild Revenge: Lost Connection (a detective is able to solve cases with a special gift – his ability to talk to animals), is offered in English, Korean, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Spanish, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai and Arabic. FlareFlow offers about 10 languages, including Korean, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia and Thai, and is the tip of the spear in the COL Group’s international expansion; including more than 30 production teams across the world’s major markets. Somewhere in there, there’s bound to be space for series that keep their clothes on.

▶ Published in ContentAsia October/November 2025 Magazine