Crazy Maple Studio

The Silicon Valley-based, Chinese-backed Crazy Maple Studio is quietly changing the streaming game with its ReelShort app. First launched in 2022 with investment from China-based digital publisher COL Group, ReelShort puts out binge-worthy micro-dramas chopped into episodes generally running no longer than a movie trailer. The minutes-long shows, catering to mobile-primed female audiences, aren’t exactly highbrow—think rags-to-riches revenge plots and werewolf-vampire fantasies—but they’re addictive, and viewers are paying to stay tuned to hits like "Fated to My Forbidden Alpha" and "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband." CEO Joey Jia says the app has been downloaded over 30 million times. It also reportedly generates an average monthly revenue of $10 million; one show, which might have 60-90 short episodes, costs an average of $300,000 to produce. Building on microdramas’ runaway boom in the Chinese market, the firm is successfully exporting the short-form entertainment model to overseas.