Micro dramas are entering their Hollywood phase as new players aim to give the format the star treatment.
The latest example is Tommy Harper, a prolific film producer whose credits include “Star Wars” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Harper is going small for his next act. He’s launching VeYou, an app for the made-for-mobile soaps that originated in Asia and have taken off among women viewers.
Harper raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding for VeYou from lead investor S32, a venture firm led by Google Ventures founder Bill Maris, whose other investments have included 23andMe, Impossible Foods, and Nest.
Harper wants to make VeYou the ‘HBO’ of micro dramas
Micro dramas — also called verticals and mini dramas — are known for being low-budget productions with wild plotlines.
Newer entrants like Harper are trying to evolve the format, using AI-driven special effects to lend a cinematic feel.
VeYou plans to offer action, romance, and drama titles, both licensed and originals made by Harper’s own studio, Tiny Verticals. The first original will be “Love Under Fire,” an action romance starring vertical drama star Kasey Esser, who wrote the series alongside Harper.
“We’re going to ramp up the quality level and the storytelling,” Harper said. “We’re going to be your HBO in the space.”
VeYou has secured distribution on Google TV and Google Play, with distribution on Apple’s iOS to follow. It’ll also use marketing channels like TikTok and Meta’s platforms to attract audiences.
VeYou is adopting the low-cost, viewer-pay model common in the vertical space. The series will cost $100,000 to $250,000 to make. Harper said licensed series will cost viewers $4.99 apiece and originals will be $10.99. Other payment options and advertising will follow.
How VeYou plans to compete
Harper is aware of the challenges facing micro dramas. They cost a fraction of a traditional feature-length movie, but often lose money because of the high cost of marketing. VeYou is a startup without massive financial backing.
“I’m competing with the big Chinese companies that are throwing tons of money at this, so we have to be very, very strategic, and we have to make things that are good quality,” he said.
Harper plans to work with people with large social followings to help market VeYou. He’s also in talks with brands to fund verticals and help market them in exchange for product placement.
Other Hollywood players have delved into micro dramas, which streaming consulting firm Owl & Co. estimates generated $1.4 billion in the US in 2025. Fox Entertainment invested in Holywater, a Ukrainian company behind the micro drama app My Drama, while Disney gave micro drama app DramaBox a spot in its accelerator program.
Harper sees micro dramas as a chance for more Hollywood jobs
Harper said he was excited about verticals’ ability to test concepts that could turn into TV shows or films, while helping employ talent as traditional Hollywood work becomes scarcer.
“It is extremely hard for young talent to get involved in TV and film right now,” he said. “And this is a place for them to do it.”
Harper knows some in Hollywood look down on micro dramas. He said he got similar reactions when he started working in TV. He believes attitudes will change as new players get involved.
“I had people call me going, ‘I don’t understand why you’re doing television. You know, you do big movies,'” he recalled. “I know we have to make better stories on this platform. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Here are select slides from the pitch deck Harper used to raise his seed round, shared exclusively with Business Insider:
VeYou wants to elevate the micro drama format.
VeYou
Its pitch deck lays out the opportunity.
VeYou
VeYou says micro dramas have an image problem.
VeYou
VeYou wants to expand the format’s appeal.
VeYou
Founder Tommy Harper has had a successful career in Hollywood.
VeYou
VeYou plans to use AI to improve its series.
VeYou
