Dramas

• Amazon Prime Video has signed a multi-year deal with CJ ENM to bring over 100 Korean dramas to the Indian market. • This agreement extends a 2025 global licensing pact and includes 26 new series, featuring titles such as 'Yumi's Cells Season 3', 'Filing for Love', and 'The Legend of Kitchen Soldier'. • The move highlights the surging popularity of K-content in India and Prime Video's strategy to capture a larger share of the regional streaming audience.

• CJ ENM announced on the 22nd that twelve of its dramas and entertainment programs have received nominations for the Content Asia Awards 2026. • The nominations span across seven different categories, highlighting the company's diverse output in the Asia-Pacific content market. • These nominations underscore CJ ENM's continued influence and competitiveness in producing high-quality regional media.

• South Korean entities CJ ENM and KOCCA are shifting toward K-drama format licensing and localized remakes in Southeast Asia to reduce high production costs. • This strategic pivot coincides with Thailand's "Content Thailand" soft-power initiative, which focuses on expanding the nation's own trade infrastructure. • Thailand aims to leverage this drive to compete as a major regional production hub alongside established centers like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Busan.

• China’s Newborn Town is leveraging AI-generated short dramas to target and attract a global audience. • Advertising spending for these AI-driven productions has already reached parity with traditional live-action shows. • This shift highlights a significant transition in the entertainment industry toward lower-cost, AI-assisted content creation for rapid scaling.

• China is seeing a surge in the popularity of "microdramas," characterized by racy plot lines and short, 60-second episodes. • The format's massive scale is evidenced by one popular show that garnered over 4.6 billion views across its 90-episode first season. • This trend represents a significant soft power victory for China's entertainment industry, which has struggled to compete globally against South Korea's dominance.

• A new wave of multinational co-productions is emerging in the K-drama industry, moving beyond solely Korean casts and crews. • A key example is the mystery thriller "Kidnap Game," a joint venture between Korea’s SimStory, Japan’s Fuji Television Network, and Hong Kong’s MakerVille. • The series features a regional ensemble led by Lee Joon-gi and Kentaro Sakaguchi, with actors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand.

• Foreign film productions invested 4.025 billion baht in Thailand during the first half of 2026, positioning the country to set a new annual record for investment. • The surge is being driven by major platforms like Netflix and a growing trend in "vertical dramas," which are short-form screen formats popular in China and across Asia. • This growth highlights Thailand's increasing competitiveness as a global filming hub and its ability to adapt to evolving digital content consumption habits.

• A Chinese actor has returned to his hometown to sell vegetables at a local market after losing his acting career. • The actor previously worked grueling schedules of up to 15 hours a day filming short-form dramas. • This career shift is attributed to the rapid integration of AI technology, which is increasingly replacing human actors in China's short drama industry.

• India is seeing a surge in the microdrama market as platforms adapt a successful commercial model originally developed in China. • The sector is attracting significant investment from venture capitalists, former Hollywood studio executives, and major entertainment companies. • Despite the boom in content creation, companies are struggling with profitability and the challenge of gaining visibility in a crowded market.

• A new wave of K-dramas is premiering this week, featuring titles such as *See You at Work Tomorrow!*, *Notes From The Last Row*, and *Agent Kim Reactivated*. • These releases, which include suspense thrillers and workplace romances, are available across major streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Viki. • The launch marks a return to high activity for Korean television following a relatively quiet period for fresh premieres.

• New data presented at the APOS media conference reveals that premium video now accounts for only 8% of total viewer screen time in Southeast Asia. • Microdramas have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing fleeting attention and converting casual viewers into paying audiences. • This shift highlights a significant change in viewer habits, where short-form, snackable content is disrupting traditional long-form streaming dominance.

• VIRTUE Asia has partnered with Chinese digital entertainment firm COL Group to expand brand access to microdramas and short-form entertainment across Southeast Asia. • The collaboration leverages VIRTUE Asia's creative expertise and COL Group's distribution capabilities to offer brands new entertainment-led storytelling opportunities. • This initiative specifically targets key regional markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

• A curated list of top K-dramas for 2026 has been released, highlighting must-watch series including *The Scarecrow* and *We Are All Trying Here*. • The romance series *Can This Love Be Translated?* has become a consistent top-ten performer since its January 2026 debut, featuring strong chemistry between leads Kim and Go. • This specific production stands out for its high production value, with filming locations spanning South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Canada.

• Vertical "1-minute dramas" are rapidly transforming the global video industry, moving beyond a niche pastime for youth to a mainstream entertainment format. • The global market for these mini-dramas, which typically feature episodes of 10 minutes or less, is estimated to reach approximately $11 billion by 2025. • Chinese platforms like Hongguo Short Drama are leading the trend with specialized genres including "Urban Hot-Blooded," "Sweet Pet Romance," and "Xuanhuan Xianxia."

• China has launched a two-month regulatory campaign to clean up its massive micro drama industry, specifically targeting content that promotes violence, sexual themes, and "wealth-flaunting." • The crackdown aims to eliminate "distorted views" and social values that glorify excessive luxury or materialism within these short-form series. • This move reflects the government's broader effort to enforce stricter moral standards and ideological control over digital entertainment and social media.

• Major Indian streaming platforms, including JioStar and Amazon, are heavily investing in "microdramas"—short, vertically shot melodramas designed for quick consumption. • These bite-sized shows have evolved from simple filler content into a core strategic tool for discovering new stories and testing potential future franchises. • The shift reflects a broader battle for viewer attention in a competitive digital market where short-form, mobile-first content is increasingly dominant.