TikTok says yes to more creator-led microdramas from Made By Us and HOORAE

As you probably know, “microdrama” is the current format du jour for everyone hoping to make a buck in the entertainment industry, from Hollywood studios to major social media platforms.

That includes TikTok, which just announced a new microseries-focused partnership with production company Made By Us Studios.

The studio describes itself as a “first-of-its-kind, Hollywood-grade studio designed for the creator economy and powered by creator management company MADE BY ALL,” and it’s already pulled in creators Hannah Stocking and Adam Rose to star in two TikTok- and PineDrama-exclusive microseries.

“Micro-series are pioneering a new language of storytelling,” Dawn Yang, TikTok’s Global Head of Entertainment & Microseries, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to partner with MADE BY US on a slate that puts creators at the center, alongside established producers and industry talent, to tell stories designed for the feed from the start. This is an exciting step forward in our continued investment in the next generation of premium vertical storytelling on TikTok and PineDrama.”

TikTok and Made By Us’ first two series are “romantic revenge thriller” Player and a “genre” microseries called The Knock, per TikTok. (What genre? We’re assuming horror.)

Player stars Viner-turned-YouTuber-and-TikToker Stocking (who already established herself in the world of microdramas), and The Knock stars TikTok comedian Rose. Stocking worked on the story for Player and is executive producing; meanwhile, one of the producers behind The Knock is Spooky Pictures, the same studio involved in A24‘s much-booed SCP Foundation film. Intriguing.

Leanne Perice, co-CEO of Made By Us Studios, said that she’s worked with content creators for over a decade, and has shared their “ambitions to develop premium IP and build careers in Hollywood.”

“Now, as a studio, we get to help bring those ambitions to life, working with them from the first idea through production,” she added. “This partnership with TikTok opens an exciting new path for creators to develop scripted stories, take on leading roles and help shape the projects they’re part of.”

The TikTok x Made By Us deal is similar to the one TikTok struck with Issa Rae‘s HOORAE earlier this year. The first vertical series to emerge from that partnership, Screen Time, has more than 580 million views on TikTok and PineDrama so far, making it both platforms’ most-viewed show to date.

At MIPCOM Cannes, the duo unveiled their next show: The Compatability Experiment, a 68-episode series (amazingly that will only add up to about an hour of total runtime) about a couple who is “desperately in need of money that thinks they can withstand anything and decides to test their relationship on a new Temptation Island-esque reality show,” per its official description.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, this show is using its runtime to sell something. Soda company poppi and fragrance/body care company Sol De Janeiro are “seamlessly woven into the series through organic, story-driven integrations, with the brands’ presence extending into companion promotional vignettes,” according to a HOORAE press release.

The Compatability Experiment is out now in full on TikTok and PineDrama. It’s not clear when Made By Us’ debut series will roll out–but whenever they do, it’s very likely they won’t be the last.