Introduction to Chinese Dramas
Jolene Foo’s path to Chinese drama fandom came after she moved from her native Malaysia to Norway in her late 20s. Growing up as a “third-generation Chinese child,” Foo was looking for a way to reconnect with her homeland. Her friends recommended Chinese dramas, or C-dramas for short. What really fascinated her was the cultural dimension. As someone who belongs to the Chinese diaspora, watching C-dramas became a way to reconnect with her roots.
A Growing Phenomenon
The global rise of Chinese entertainment began in the early 2000s, when the poetic martial arts and stirring visuals of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” brought Chinese storytelling to prominence. This dynamic continued on television, where dramas evolved from historical epics to modern romances and fantasy hits. In the 2010s, Netflix and Viki introduced these dramas to global audiences and since 2020 they have transitioned to video-on-demand (VOD) apps. Many are now streaming on YouTube and Facebook with local language subtitles, making them accessible to even more people around the world.
The Rise of Microdramas
Chinese dramas are a structural pillar of Asia’s premium VOD landscape, driving sustained audience engagement and cross-border reach. Demand is strong in markets such as Taiwan and Thailand and is growing rapidly in Southeast Asia. Although C-dramas lag behind Korean dramas or K-dramas in popularity, they now reach tens of millions of viewers across the region. The longer dramas exist and they are doing well, but a lot of the traditional players are now moving to the shorter formats simply because that’s where the attention is.
Big Drama in Microdoses
These new, shorter programs are called microdramas. They are ultra-short, portrait format scripted series optimized for mobile viewing and often only last a few minutes per episode. Microdramas are becoming increasingly popular on streaming apps, offering short, fast-paced stories about romance, family conflicts, workplace struggles, revenge plots and ambitious lifestyles. The storytelling and the plot, everything is heightened. There’s no room to stop and breathe because everything has to happen in those two minutes. It’s captivating!
The Future of Microdramas
A recent report from Media Partners Asia predicts that microdramas worldwide will generate $9 billion in annual revenue outside China by 2030, up from $1.4 billion in 2024. One of the major players in microdrama production is COL Group, the Beijing-based digital content company behind two of the most popular microdrama apps, ReelShort and FlareFlow. The company began focusing on short-form, vertical content for the phone in 2021, when most dramas were produced for cinemas or television.
Gentle, Dramatic Power
Shaoyu Yuan, a professor at Rutgers University, has followed the development of C-dramas. For him, China’s rise in theater production is not just about entertainment or revenue, but part of a broader soft power strategy. The state shapes this ecosystem through boundaries, censorship and incentives and then reinforces stories that fit its preferred messages. It is a hybrid model that is market-oriented in development but state-driven in environment, which is why the growth appears sudden even though it has been building for a long time.
A Window into China
C-drama fan Foo says China’s pursuit of soft power for international viewers is evident in how accessible C-dramas have become. Many of these platforms now host full series on YouTube, often with multiple subtitle options, released quickly and consistently. Although these stories are fictional and not a direct reflection of reality, they still provide a small but valuable glimpse into a society that is often oversimplified or misunderstood. When viewers watch Chinese dramas, they spend hours immersing themselves in Chinese culture, its stories, romance, social norms and even language, rather than politics. And this repeated confrontation contributes to a softer, more humane image of China.
