Chinese directors and foreign actors flock overseas to produce short dramas

In the first quarter of 2025, global in-app purchase revenue for short drama platforms surged to nearly $700 million - a staggering fourfold increase compared to Q1 2024, according to data from Sensor Tower, a San Francisco-based analytics and market intelligence platform. Short drama app downloads have also skyrocketed, with global figures exceeding 370 million in Q1 2025 - a 6.2-fold increase from Q1 2024. As of March 2025, cumulative downloads for short drama apps globally neared 950 million, the platform said.

"Over the past few weekends, I binge-watched short dramas on my couch every day. They are so engrossing!" Steve Todd, a short drama enthusiast from the US told the Global Times. His experience represents a growing obsession in the US.

Amid an explosive growth of short dramas, the US has emerged as the indispensable battleground for international short drama platforms seeking dominance overseas. In the global short drama app revenue landscape, the US witnessed a 20 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in Q1 2025, nearing $350 million and contributing 49 percent of the global total - cementing its status as the highest-revenue market, according to the Sensor Tower.

As the short drama trend sweeps across the US, industry players are racing to expand overseas footprints.

On the streets of Los Angeles, Western actors run through their lines as a Chinese-led short drama crew bustles with activity. They're producing short dramas mirroring the plots of short dramas prevailed in China - the same addictive plots, the same melodramatic twists, but now starring all-foreign casts. These Western-remake sensations are exploding across platforms.

Co-crafting dreams

Previously focused on short films and commercials, the trajectory of Xie Xiangwu, a graduate with a film degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, shifted in early 2023.

Xie and her partners noticed several YouTube accounts were producing content akin to short dramas welcomed in China - each episode a roughly 10-minute self-contained story, often with melodramatic twists. What caught their eye was that these clips raked in massive views in the US, even when shot in landscape format, averaging between 1 million and 10 million views per video.

"The rise of social media platforms like TikTok has made people accustomed to scrolling through videos on their phones," Xie said. "Could producing short dramas in portrait format - popular in China - be a new opportunity?" With that question in mind, Xie embarked on her journey of producing short dramas.

Xie told the Global Times on Tuesday that she soon realized there's a knack to shooting short dramas. While traditional shoots demand intricate shot design, short dramas prioritized dialogue-driven and straightforward narratives that resonate with audiences.

The condensed production cycle is another feature. Projects now move from concept to delivery in just two or three months, she noted.

Now, Xie co-founded a Los Angeles-based short drama studio called Ahah Lava, emerging among the earliest directors to export short dramas. Her studio has produced 15 series to date, with Got Pregnant With My Ex-boss's Baby achieving viral success: 12 million YouTube views and 40 million plays within four days of its TikTok premiere.

The booming US short drama market has also revitalized some Hollywood actors, with once-cameo performers now stepping into lead roles.

Thirty-four-year-old Esser, who had pursued acting studies on the side and appeared in low-budget short films without garnering significant attention, unexpectedly achieved international recognition through short dramas, domestic media outlet Caijing magazine reported.

In 2023, he acted as a male lead in the globally viral Fated to My Forbidden Alpha and an overbearing CEO in Goodbye, My CEO, propelling him to stardom. Now, Esser has amassed legions of fans worldwide, becoming a heavyweight in the short drama scene, according to the report.

"I receive new casting offers every few days," Esser said. "Short dramas have expanded my opportunities, bringing me closer to my dream of being a movie star."

A former Hollywood performer now working in short dramas also told the Global Times that the industry-wide strike had left her with barely any roles over the past two years. "Short drama series have not only allowed me to sustain my livelihood. They've also reignited my passion for the craft," she said.

Xie also noted the intensifying competition among short-drama actors. "In the current US market, 500 to 700 auditions for a lead role are common. Candidates will undergo three to four rounds of screenings before finalizing each lead candidate."

She added that top-tier short drama actors command a daily rate of approximately $2,000, with additional pay for overtime hours.

Choosing filming base

Regarding the surging popularity of short dramas in the US, an industry insider told the Global Times that he attributes it to the synergy between China's rich pool of short drama scripts and the US' high-caliber film and television resources. One short drama produced by the insider has grossed over $35 million at the box office, shattering 2024 industry records, despite an initial production budget of just $200,000.

He noted that regardless of genre, a short drama's viral success hinges on rapid plot twists and heightened emotional beats. As the primary source of these core elements, according to the insider, China's vast repository of scripts readily meets global market demands.

"With these essential components already perfected, our focus shifts to strategic localization and delivering them to our clients, which are accelerating production timelines," he said.

Echoing the insider's remarks, Xie noted that Los Angeles, a global hub for filmmaking, boasts abundant film and television resources. She said that many behind-the-scenes crew members boast Hollywood feature film credentials, with extremely detailed and systematic processes for pre-production work.

"From listing costumes and props to refining ideas, they are meticulous and provide us with substantial support, which helps elevate the overall quality," she said.

Xie also said that, influenced by their previous work, the local cinematographers they've hired retain a cinematic quality in their lighting, which is "a critical value-add for short-drama production."

Given that the budgets for shooting in China and the US are roughly comparable, the ability to enhance the texture of short dramas by filming in the US is among the considerations for directors and actors.

Both Xie and the insider believe the short drama market in the US boasts a promising future, viewing current developments as a beginning. "From what I know, some top-tier platforms are already eyeing the short drama market, and more and more local platforms will be gearing up to enter it," Xie added.