TikTok is determined to play a major role in the ongoing microdrama boom, so it launched a new app to house all of those short-form narratives. The video app is behind PineDrama, a microdrama hub that is now available in the U.S. and Brazil.
For those not in the know, microdramas are serial productions that are broken down into bite-sized episodes. What began as a Chinese phenomenon exploded onto the global entertainment scene last year. At the start of the 2025, many U.S. consumers still associated microdramas with failed ventures like Quibi.
Thanks in large part to TikTok, microdramas have evolved into a multi-billion-dollar business. By November 2025, studies showed that 28 million U.S.-based viewers were watching microdramas. More than half of those consumers were between the ages of 18 and 34.
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PineDrama’s library is serving up the microdrama fare those viewers are demanding. Hit shows like Love at First Bite have already drawn 18 million views, so TikTok users have clearly caught onto the PineDrama launch, even if it was done in a stealthy fashion.
TikTok’s connections to China make it a clear contender in the microdrama sweepstakes, but it’s hardly the only platform looking to capitalize on the genre’s sudden popularity. Another media company involved in the world of short-form serials is Holywater, the Ukrainian firm behind the microdrama app My Drama. As TikTok brought PineDrama to market, Holywater announced a $22 million Series A round to build on the big year it had in 2025.
Holywater Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov said in a statement that their Series A is the “largest investment in the microdrama space to date outside of Asia.” They added that the deal “sends a clear message to the industry: short-form, studio-quality storytelling is here to stay.”
It already looks as if 2026 will validate the staying power of the microdrama trend. With Hollywood firms and notable creators like Hannah Stocking getting involved in the genre, microdramas are starting to feel like an arms race. If that’s how this year is going to go, we can expect TikTok and its new sister app to hold onto their prominent position.
