Microdrama viewership has grown 28-fold over the past two years, and it’s not just for women of a certain age anymore. More than two-thirds of users, male and female, watch romance-based series. And just like TV, microdrama viewership typically peaks on Sunday nights between 8-10 p.m.
Those are among the findings of a research report, “The State of Microdrama,” issued Thursday by vertical media powerhouse Holywater and research and consulting firm Owl & Co. Holywater opened the databanks from its My Drama and My Muse microdrama apps to allow Owl & Co. to analyze the new medium’s torrid growth.
One inescapable conclusion gleaned from the data is that microdrama fans, particularly the heavy users who consume more than three hours a week, are OK with AI-generated material despite the growing culture debate about the pernicious influence of endless scrolls of “AI slop” content. My Drama offers a broad slate of live-action microdramas; My Muse offers AI-created vertical media.
“The audience is younger, more male and more deeply engaged than commonly assumed. It is also far more open to AI-generated content than the broader cultural conversation around AI would suggest. The format has emerged: its audience returns daily, watches across multiple contexts, recommends shows to others, and stacks alongside traditional streaming rather than replacing it,” the report states. “Measured on the same infrastructure, that audience engages with AI-generated content at rates that match live-action, and on our flagship titles retention runs slightly ahead.”
