Thoughts on Vertical Dramas

Stub • 348 Words • Entertainment, 2026 • 02/04/2026

⚠️ This post contains a rougher cut of my thoughts on the topic and may be updated in the future. Please forgive any mistakes or lack of polish!

What are verticals?

• Everyone in Hollywood is Talking About ‘Verticals’…But What Are They?

We switch things at the speed of friction. Verticals are a medium that understand this.

• Internet speed, processing power, and availability of content all drastically reduce switching costs.
• Are Attention Spans Actually Decreasing?
  • I think that our digital attention spans are decreasing which makes us more impatient in other tasks and makes us feel more bored at baseline.
  • Columbus (2017): The Crisis of Interest
• Colin and Samir talk about narrative/information loops and hooks are openings of questions that are later closed through the story. Verticals will have these kinds of loops optimized for the time and distribution format of this current age and where the gap in the market/profit lies.

Are vertical dramas substitutes for longer form dramas?

• No, I do not think that they are perfect substitutes. However, they aren’t complements either.
• They are competing in the larger attention landscape, but I think it is more in the short to medium form realm.
• If you come across a vertical you might watch a bunch of small videos that may add up to something akin to a medium or longform, but they are designed to be consumed and understood out of context, which is very different than medium to longform content.
• I think that in some ways these are soaps in the new age, but they also demonstrate a new engagement and length niche.
  • You want something that is definitely shorter than a show but can still hold your attention over a decent period of time.

In a lot of ways, it shows that this is a niche that is worth exploring.

• Audiovisual content that is shorter than a YouTube video and has a narrative and full cast just doesn’t exist anywhere, except maybe comedy sketches.
• I think this is a market that is only monetizable through TikTok where ad revenue is a bit more optimized for this shorter content. Midroll ads would not fare well on these types of videos.
  • Product placement or other forms of less interruptive forms of advertising could maybe work.