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Have you jumped into the mini-drama trend on TikTok yet?
Popularized in China, the mini-drama format essentially sees full-length productions split into tiny episodes, that people can then tune into on TikTok. The plots of these shows tend to be soap opera-style, Hallmark movie-esque escapism (as explained by Business Insider: “”plots often revolve around tropes like badly behaving husbands or werewolf romance”), which generally end on cliffhanger confessions to keep people coming back for more.
And people are doing just that, with the format gaining significant traction on TikTok over the past year.
So, of course, as you would expect, Instagram is now also looking to latch onto the trend.
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.
Have you jumped into the mini-drama trend on TikTok yet?
Popularized in China, the mini-drama format essentially sees full-length productions split into tiny episodes, that people can then tune into on TikTok. The plots of these shows tend to be soap opera-style, Hallmark movie-esque escapism (as explained by Business Insider: “”plots often revolve around tropes like badly behaving husbands or werewolf romance”), which generally end on cliffhanger confessions to keep people coming back for more.
And people are doing just that, with the format gaining significant traction on TikTok over the past year.
So, of course, as you would expect, Instagram is now also looking to latch onto the trend.
As highlighted by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is currently experimenting with its own, dedicated Short Drama element within the app.
As this example shows, the new element, which is currently in early testing, and is not available to the public as yet, would seemingly enable Instagram users to follow their favorite short drama shows, and stay up to date on the latest episodes more easily.
Would that be beneficial?
Well, again, mini dramas are big on TikTok, with one estimate indicating that the format generated $1.3 billion in the US in 2025, mostly via direct payments from viewers.
And clearly TikTok sees potential. It launched a Minis section in the app last year, while it’s also launched a dedicated mini dramas app, called PineDrama, in the U.S. and Brazil.
The serialized approach to content replicates the daily soap opera style that has long been a staple on regular TV, and with shortened episodes, aligned with TikTok usage and engagement, it does seem to have potential as a means to drive more engagement, and keep people coming back to the app.
And Meta, which never wants to miss out on any trend, is also obviously aware of the potential here.
I haven’t watched a heap of these myself, so I can’t say much for the content, though as with soap operas, I doubt the artistic merit is the allure, with people more drawn into the exaggerated drama of these short episodes.
And maybe, that could also see it become a thing on IG.
