This episode of The Town is presented by 20th century studios Avatar Fire and Ash.

Don't miss the movie Critics Are Raving is epic and exciting and gorgeous and heartbreaking,

and stands as one of the greatest films ever made.

It's got incredible visuals, jaw-dropping action, and a cinematic achievement.

Avatar, Fire, and Ash, now playing in theaters, and now nominated for the Academy Awards

for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.

It is Thursday, February 12.

Ever since the content recession started in 2023, Hollywood people have been looking for a path

back to the peak TV boom times. What if the answer is in shows with episodes that last

just 90 seconds? Microdramas, I feel like people in town won't shut up about microdramas,

though the business in this country is still pretty small and surprisingly few seem to

understand them. If you're not familiar, these are basically if social media clips were crossed

with serial romance novels, short bursts of content, often one to three minutes, designed for

mobile viewing and to get you hooked, often for free, and then you pay to watch more via micro

payments or subscription. The content is cheap and often low quality, a then you pay to watch more via micro payments or subscription.

The content is cheap and often low quality, a lot of ludicrous romances based on Chinese

web novels, badly behaving billionaires, titles like, Forever Was a Lie, or Waking Up Married

to My Crush, that kind of stuff. But they're clearly catching on, mostly in China and

other parts of Asia,

but increasingly in this country where revenue from microdramas reached $819 million in

2024, according to one research firm, projected to rise to $3.8 billion by 2030.

And globally, the microdrama market is projected to reach $26 billion by 2030.

...