At the Festival des Séries d’Asie we had the chance to talk to Wenwen Han, producer, industry researcher, and the founder of the Short Drama Alliance. A recognized authority on vertical, short-form entertainment, she has authored Future Playbook: China’s Short Drama Ecosystem and Insights for Global Business and Short Drama Writing 101: Write What Platforms Want. Here, she breaks down the narrative mechanics of micro-dramas, the challenges of cross-cultural adaptation, and what drives success in international markets.
Given the explosive growth of vertical short dramas and the widening diversity of Chinese content—ranging from crime procedurals to historical epics and niche genres—what currently stands out as the strongest market driver? Looking ahead, which genres or narrative formats remain underserved?
To answer that, we first have to distinguish between domestic Chinese micro-dramas and the English-language titles produced by Chinese platforms for export.
Domestic Chinese micro-dramas evolved directly from online web novels. Because of those roots, core tropes like time travel, rebirth, or “system” narratives are already deeply established. While the market covers most major genres, it relies heavily on mixing tropes and adapting formulas. For example, the classic “CEO romance” isn’t strictly about corporate executives—the male lead simply represents authority, wealth, or status, whether he is portrayed as an ancient emperor, a werewolf in Western-facing content, or a state-owned factory worker in a 1980s period drama.
When it comes to overseas markets, CEO romance and its close variants remain the primary commercially proven formula. But because domestic Chinese platforms produce a far wider spectrum of content, there is still a massive, untapped market globally. A huge portion of narrative models has yet to be translated for international viewers.
Among those untapped genres, which ones hold the highest potential for global audiences?
That is the central question for the industry right now. CEO romance exploded in North America and Europe because that specific demographic was severely underserved. Romance novel readers represent a massive audience, yet traditional Hollywood studios concentrate their budgets on sci-fi blockbusters and superhero franchises, leaving a clear void for romance-driven visual media.
To find the next breakout genre internationally, platforms must identify where else global audiences are underserved. Family dramas or suspense thrillers could be strong contenders, but every new genre requires systematic testing to see what actually connects.
Narrative priorities vary significantly across regional markets. Korea leans heavily into high school and coming-of-age stories, while Thai productions frequently weave historical settings into identity dramas. Chinese micro-dramas often rely on strong fantasy elements or local humor, but Western viewers sometimes struggle with the underlying cultural context. Why is that gap so hard to bridge?
Domestic Chinese micro-dramas were created strictly for local audiences, with global distribution only coming as an afterthought. Because micro-dramas are fundamentally emotional products, they are tied to specific cultural frameworks. A joke or situational conflict that resonates in China often loses its meaning entirely overseas.
The inverse is equally true: an English-language micro-drama crafted for an American audience will feature dialogue or cultural beats that fail to resonate with viewers in France. Certain storytelling nuances simply do not travel across borders.
Is there potential in setting micro-dramas in China visually, but structuring the narrative around Western storytelling tropes? What specific elements work or fail with Western viewers?
For Western markets, using local Western actors is far more effective than trying to market a Chinese setting. What truly travels globally are universal human experiences: an underdog fighting back, stories of revenge, betrayal, or falling in love.
What fails to travel are hyper-localized social dynamics. In Chinese micro-dramas, multi-generational household conflicts—such as the complex relationship between a wife and her mother-in-law—form a massive, highly profitable genre. In Western markets, that specific social structure does not resonate.
Have Chinese platforms successfully adapted short-form formats from other Asian markets?
Yes, platforms began that process early on by expanding across East and Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Malaysia. By leveraging existing Chinese-speaking populations and dubbing into local languages, those adaptations succeeded quickly. Because neighboring Asian regions share closer cultural proximity, those narrative frameworks translate far more seamlessly than they do in Western markets.
If you had complete creative freedom and resources to build a dream project from scratch, what would your priorities be?
In micro-drama production, the core driver is never the budget or the star power—it is always the script. Finding the right script for a specific target audience must always take priority over production scale. While talented directors and popular actors are readily available in both Chinese and Western markets, the script remains the central engine that drives audience retention and commercial success.
Elisa Cutullè