The rise of vertical short dramas in North America is not merely an expansion of content into overseas markets but rather an underestimated revolution in content production.
Since entry into the U.S. market from China in late 2023, this lightweight content format, originally designed for mobile devices, has leaped from "niche experiment" to "industry-scale adoption" in just two years. By 2025, the global market for short dramas had reached nearly USD 11 billion, transforming what was once a marginal content genre into a new gateway for consumer entertainment.
The rise of short dramas has not only transformed the way content is consumed but has also rapidly reshaped parts of the production chain in the U.S. film and television industry.
From a production perspective, the budget for a single short drama has risen from approximately USD 100,000 in the early days to over USD 200,000. In contrast, production processes have gradually become more industrialized. The size and division of labor among actors, production crews, and post-production teams have also become increasingly specialized: what began as a 1–2-person editing team has expanded into a 6–7-person post-production setup that includes editing, color grading, and sound.
The most direct impact is seen in employment and cost structures: daily rates for non-union actors have risen from USD200 to USD400 in 2023 to USD1,500 to USD2,000 today, while location rental fees have increased from USD700 per day to USD3,000 to USD5,000 per day. Short dramas have, to some extent, filled the employment gaps caused by the temporary downturn in the U.S. film and television industry, and have driven the market for production resources in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and other locations.
However, this rapid growth has not led to a stable profit model.
In the North American market, live-action short dramas have long been constrained by production capacity and costs: Los Angeles produces a limited number of projects each month, which must be divided between multiple platforms; at the same time, user retention and paid conversion rates have not increased in tandem.
Data show that in January 2026, in-app purchase revenue from overseas short-drama apps totaled approximately USD 212 million, marking a month-on-month decline of about 8%. The number of apps launched has also continued to decline, with most companies facing the dilemma of "revenue growth but profit pressure," with approximately 80% to 90% of projects struggling to turn a profit.
Against this backdrop, the industry has begun to explore new production methods.
In 2026, the concentrated release of AI-generated short dramas marked a pivotal turning point for the industry.
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