Recently, micro-dramas consumed by ordinary people in China have become the new target of the Communist Party’s crackdown. Some commentators pointed out that people in China are feeling increasingly stifled, as even their entertainment options are tightly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
These vertically-shot micro-dramas, with each episode lasting around a minute, have garnered a large following among the general public due to their intricate plots and relatable themes, enticing people to watch during their commute or while waiting in line at the grocery store.
Over the past two years, Chinese media regulatory authorities have deleted 25,000 micro-dramas citing reasons such as “sexual content, violence, and gore.” In June of this year, the CCP further tightened its control over micro-dramas, requiring creators to register their works with relevant authorities.
Reuters recently visited the set of a micro-drama titled “Grandma’s Moon.” In a report published, 69-year-old retired railway worker Zhu Jian plays the role of the patriarch of an affluent family in the drama.
While the first episode of these micro-dramas is usually free, viewers need to continuously recharge or become members to watch all 64 episodes, spending varying amounts of tens of yuan each time.
According to interviews by Reuters with 10 industry insiders, 4 scholars, and media analysts, the budget for each micro-drama ranges from 200,000 yuan to about 2 million yuan.
For viewers, opting to watch short dramas during fragmented time slots like a subway ride has become more feasible than speeding through a long TV series, making the micro-drama industry the next hot investment sector.
The popularity of micro-dramas stems from its ability to reflect the social psychology of contemporary Chinese youth to some extent. Young people in modern society face immense life and work pressures. The plots and dialogues in micro-dramas often inadvertently strike a chord with young audiences.
Xu Ting, an associate professor in the Chinese department at Jiangnan University, told Reuters, “Social mobility is actually very difficult now. Many people see this as a social reality.”
Furthermore, workplace conflicts, emotional issues, and daily life matters are vividly and realistically portrayed in micro-dramas. As young viewers watch, they can find avenues for self-identification and emotional release.
Coupled with its lighthearted humor and dramatic conflicts, micro-dramas offer young people an affordable form of entertainment.
Many popular micro-dramas revolve around revenge or rags-to-riches Cinderella stories. In an era where social mobility is low and youth unemployment is high in China, where birth often dictates one’s fate, stories of miraculously changing destinies resonate with audiences.
Zhu Jian noted that the majority of viewers are middle-aged and retired individuals. “They no longer go to the movies,” he remarked.
According to a report by iMedia Consulting titled “Research on the Chinese Micro-Drama Market 2023-2024,” the domestic micro-drama market was valued at 3.7 billion yuan in 2021, reaching 37.4 billion yuan in 2023, marking a tenfold increase. The report forecasts that by 2027, the Chinese micro-drama market will exceed 100 billion yuan.
Data shows that in the 2024 micro-drama market, users aged 40 to 59 account for 37.3%, while those aged 60 and above make up 12.1%, indicating that nearly half of the micro-drama audience comprises middle-aged and elderly individuals.
Mainland Chinese media mentioned that the explosive growth of micro-dramas among the middle-aged and elderly is due to the continuous downgrade in consumption by young people, making the middle-aged and elderly group a strong consumer force.
The primary platforms for micro-dramas are platforms like Kuaishou, Douyin (TikTok), Xiaohongshu (RED), and Bilibili. Chen, the vice president of Kuaishou, stated in a January media briefing that in 2023, the app featured over 68 micro-drama productions that garnered over 300 million views, with 4 of them exceeding 1 billion views.
With increased regulatory scrutiny by the Chinese authorities over film and television works, the drastic reduction in filing the series poses a challenge to the survival of small and medium-sized film and television companies. In the face of significantly reduced budgets and projects being cut, producing micro-dramas has become one way for some film and television companies to maneuver.
Some argue that while it takes years for a film project to generate returns, micro-dramas can achieve this in one or two months.
Zhou Yi, a producer at NetEase, told Reuters, “It usually takes us two to three years to release a traditional TV series, but it only takes three months to release a micro-drama, saving us a lot of time.”
Utilizing social media applications for vertical shooting and distribution means that the production cost of micro-dramas is relatively low.
Typically, the production cycle of a micro-drama lasts about a month, with a filming period of 6-8 days and post-production editing taking only 10-20 days. The filming cost of a drama is between 200,000 to 500,000 yuan, but the turnaround time is quick.
Moreover, the Chinese film and television industry undergoes a lengthy review process from shooting for approval to publishing and distribution. In recent years, the Chinese government has heavily promoted ideologically charged official-themed film and television works.
The development of Chinese micro-dramas has drawn scrutiny from the Communist Party.
Towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the State Administration of Radio and Television regulatory agency announced a “special rectification campaign” on micro-dramas, deleting 25,000 productions, totaling nearly 1.4 million episodes, citing involvement with “sexual content, violence, gore, vulgarity, and crudeness.”
In April, the CCP media outlet “China Women’s News” stated that some micro-dramas depict “inequality and distorted family relationships as a common phenomenon” and “deviate from mainstream social values.”
After the restructuring of film and television works, in June, the National Radio and Television Administration introduced new regulations stipulating that unreviewed and unfiled micro-dramas would not be allowed to be disseminated online. Before the official implementation of these regulations, video-sharing sites like Douyin and Kuaishou had already taken steps by self-censoring and removing multiple micro-dramas.
Chinese historian Chang Ong-tu, in an interview with Radio Free Asia, stated that short-video content creators often expose societal injustices to increase view rates, which is why the CCP has moved to restrict and censor short-dramas.
He mentioned, “More and more short videos directly target societal pain points, touch upon policy boundaries, leading to competition within the circle. This is something that news supervisory or opinion control departments would not like to see.”
Current affairs commentator Bi Xin also told Radio Free Asia that the information conveyed in short videos does not align with Beijing’s defined main theme, leading to suppression, control, and the need for licenses.
Political commentator Li Linyi believes that what the CCP least wants to see is anything that challenges regime stability, hence why short dramas that deviate from CCP ideology are being cracked down on and deleted.
“No one believes in the CCP’s ideology. The narrative they promote has no market whatsoever,” he stated. “Today’s Chinese people feel stifled, with even their entertainment tightly controlled by the CCP.”
Li Linyi added that CCP’s control over public opinion comes at a cost. “By closing off another outlet for public frustration, once this anger erupts, the consequences for the CCP could be dire,” he pointed out.