How are short dramas made?
A short drama is usually adapted from a popular web-novel plot, scripted around a cliffhanger every minute or so, and filmed vertically in one to two weeks on a small budget, often with two cameras capturing each scene in a single take. It is then cut into dozens of one- to two-minute episodes and marketed hard on social media.
This is how that works step by step, from the reporting of The Guardian, NPR, MIT Technology Review, Xinhua and Deadline, each linked where it is quoted.
Step by step
1. The story
Many plots come from serialised web fiction. Wikipedia’s article on duanju traces the format’s storytelling to Chinese web novels released chapter by chapter, and MIT Technology Review reported in 2024 that platforms adapt scripts from Chinese web novels. GoodShort’s own App Store listing says many of its shows are adapted from novels.
2. The script
Each episode has to work in about a minute: a hook in the first seconds, a turn, and a cliffhanger. One industry figure quoted by MIT Technology Review put it bluntly: with episodes of a minute and a half, the plot build-up is short, if there is any.
3. Casting
NPR reported that instead of A-list stars, the companies behind these apps bank on little-known actors, tight budgets and fast production. The Guardian reported that, with strikes and cutbacks making work hard to find, verticals give many actors consistent jobs.
4. The shoot
The Guardian reported verticals are typically filmed in seven to ten days, with two cameras capturing scenes in a single take. MIT Technology Review said platforms shoot an entire series in two weeks. Xinhua described a Shanghai centre where dozens of productions film at once on compact sets that mimic everything from hospital wards to nightclubs.
5. The edit
The footage is cut into vertical 9:16 episodes, each ending on a cliffhanger. Wikipedia notes series usually have 20 to 100 episodes; on BingeTube the median series has 43 episodes and the median episode runs 81 seconds.
6. Other languages
A hit is often remade rather than just dubbed. ReelShort’s maker told NPR it reshoots popular English-language stories for other countries with different actors and adapted scripts; MIT Technology Review reported FlexTV both dubs Chinese shows and films new ones in the US.
7. Marketing
Making a show is the cheap part. MIT Technology Review reported a US-filmed show costs around $150,000 while millions are then spent advertising it, which is why you see so many clips on TikTok and Facebook.
MIT Technology Review, 27 Feb 2024 · The Guardian, 4 April 2025 · NPR, 19 March 2025 · People’s Daily / Xinhua, 30 July 2025
How a one-minute episode is built
Watch a few episodes back to back and the shape repeats. It isn’t a rule written down anywhere, but it is how almost every series we carry is cut:
- Seconds 0–10: pick up exactly where the last cliffhanger left off, so nobody needs a recap.
- The middle: one move in the story, such as a reveal, a confrontation, a slap or a proposal.
- The last seconds: a new question (a door opens, a name is spoken, a phone lights up) and the episode cuts.
- Episode 1 does all the set-up at once: who was wronged, by whom, and the twist that promises payback.
From China to the US
Wikipedia’s article on duanju says Chinese short drama companies began pursuing international markets, particularly the US, in 2022, working with American and British production houses either to dub existing Chinese series or to re-create them with English-speaking actors. ReelShort and DramaBox, it says, entered the US market in 2022 and 2023. By the first quarter of 2025, according to an industry source the article cites, locally produced titles made up 80% of the top 20 vertical dramas by revenue outside China.
That is why most series you see in English today were filmed in English, often in the US, rather than dubbed.
Short drama production at a glance
| What the reporting says | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Shoot length | 7 to 10 days; a whole series in about two weeks | The Guardian 2025; MIT Technology Review 2024 |
| Cameras | Two cameras, scenes in a single take; industry-standard cameras at some studios | The Guardian 2025 |
| Budget | Around $150,000 for a US-filmed show; marketing costs far more | MIT Technology Review 2024 |
| Union deal | SAG-AFTRA Verticals Agreement for productions under $300,000 (October 2025) | Deadline 2025 |
| Episodes | About 1–2 minutes each, 20 to 100 per series | Wikipedia (Duanju) |
Who works on them
In the US the format has become a regular source of work. Deadline reported in October 2025 that SAG-AFTRA launched a Verticals Agreement for productions with budgets under $300,000, and that the Writers Guild told members vertical work is covered by its main agreement. A production manager at London-based Sea Star Productions told The Guardian that “just because it’s different and fast-paced doesn’t mean the standards are any less”.
Watch the result
BingeTube streams more than 2,000 finished series in any browser. Episodes 1–5 of every series are free with a free account; then $1.99 for the first week and $9.99 a month, or $4.99 for one series. No ads, no coins.
The Duke’s Hidden Wife · The Maid Who Ran From the Don · My Boss Is My Secret Husband · Short dramas
Popular on BingeTube right now
- My Homeless Bride Is a Billionaire Heiress — 499 episodes
- Touch the Don’s Wife, Pay the Price — 480 episodes
- My Cruel Shifter Regretted Losing Me Too Late — 263 episodes
- Who Is This Tramp With a Trillion-Dollar Empire? — 261 episodes
- One Month to Love a Dragon — 225 episodes
- Plus-Size Bride, Stepmom in Charge — 205 episodes
- The Billion-dollar Revenge — 59 episodes
- Kneel! I'm the Son of Zeus — 50 episodes
More short dramas to discover
A different handful of series from the catalog every day.
- The Scorned House-Husband Is a Billionaire
- The Ceo Who Bore the King’s Heir
- Racing Back to Your Heart
- Odyssey
- The Mortal I Married Made Heaven Bow
- Realm Lord Infinite SSS‑Class Evolvers
- Sacrificed by My Fiancee Claimed by the Sea Witch
- Bound to the Triplet Alphas
- I Can See My Husband's Loyalty
- Bound by the Serpent King's Kiss
- My Heart Wont Waver
- I Had My Billionaire Rival’s Baby
- His Personal Singer
- You've Messed with the Wrong Mage
- Small Town, Big Secrets
- My Beggar Husband Is the Alpha
- Caught in His Current
- My Summoner is Way Too Weak
- Done Being a Lady. Time to Shoot.
- Sharing Burning Dreams with the Ice-Cold Football Captain
- Legendary Beastmaster the Exiled Daughter Fights Back
- Marked by the Last Dragon
- Rise of the Fallen Silver Wolf
- Poisoned by His Love
Questions
How long does it take to film a short drama?
About one to two weeks for a whole series: The Guardian reported seven to ten days, and MIT Technology Review about two weeks.
How much does a short drama cost to make?
MIT Technology Review reported around $150,000 for a show filmed in the US in 2024, with far more spent on advertising. SAG-AFTRA’s Verticals Agreement covers productions with budgets under $300,000.
Why are short dramas filmed vertically?
So they fill a phone screen held upright, the way people already watch short videos. The format was built for smartphones from the start.
Are short drama actors professionals?
Many are working actors. The Guardian spoke to a recent acting-school graduate who has made ten verticals and quoted a former Home and Away star who now works in them, and SAG-AFTRA has a contract for this work.