Crew members of the 24K Onions studio work on a mini-series in Hollywood. Photo: Courtesy of 24K Onions
When they decided to turn to producing a minute-by-minute mini-series at the end of 2022, the group of Chinese youth who just graduated from the American Film Institute (AFI) did not look to have a foothold in Hollywood soon in such a unique way - not only opening an independent production studio, but also offering a larger rice bowl to some US performers under the shadow of the Hollywood strike.
Cut to two years later, Yang Bohan (Crystal) and Sun Tianze (Edward), in their late 20s, have been going full throttle on the path. They are capable of maintaining a high output monthly, along with the quality of the mini-series that has gained traction in the US market. One of their "unauthorized" DVDs even sold out on the Walmart e-commerce platform.
"Through observation and survey, we found that genres of the minute-long series that can be accepted by the North American market has been very limited, mostly surrounding romantic stories with powerful men and werewolf kings," Sun told the Global Times. "Based on the local cultural roots, we are trying to draw on the more mature experience of vertical mini-series production so as to make the works all the rage."
As Chinese youths who are rooted in Chinese culture while studying abroad and getting acquainted with foreign tastes, Yang and Sun said that they are willing to bridge the domestic and overseas industry of mini-series production, and make more creations to spur the industry's growth and the export of the cultural form the following Chinese web novel format.
At the initial stage
A love triangle plays out on the screen. Two ultra-rich men grapple for the attentions and love of the female protagonist who, until this moment, had been an ordinary young woman.
This genre of the short melodrama is very popular in the US, as Yang said. The origin of these plots and characters can be found in Chinese web novels, a unique form of literature that has been popular on the Chinese internet for much of the last two decades.
"The industry of the short melodrama in the US is still at the initial stage, equivalent to the situation of the industry in China two or three years ago," Yang noted.
In the US, these vertical mini-series still prioritize quick, oversimplified stories of love, wealth, betrayal and revenge, sometimes featuring mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves. Of course, no matter the settings of the works, all the male characters inevitably fall in love with the female protagonist.
Within several minutes of one episode, the plots are revealed, sometimes with a meeting in the first episode and marriage in the second. Such a format matches up with what audiences dream of and also caters to their pursuit of pleasure and excitement.
"The minute-long drama belongs to a kind of fast-moving consumer good," Sun said. "Whether it be Chinese or American audiences, and regardless of age, the series can be captivating through the fantastical world built by the plots."
Although the speed of production should be mostly prioritized, the young Chinese producers who have been trained at a US top film academy maintain the process of making a feature film when producing each of the mini-series. How to balance the limited time and quality has been always under consideration.
Yang Bohan (right) and Sun Tianze Photo: Courtesy of 24K Onions
Crew members of the 24K Onions studio work on a mini-series in Hollywood. Photo: Courtesy of 24K Onions
After making a successful attempt, Yang and Sun established their own studio named 24K Onions in Hollywood to pursue their mini-series dreams, together with dozens of film industry insiders including some of their friends, who also graduated from AFI. Almost 60 percent of the group are not from Asia and so are all the performers in their works. Some are professional Hollywood performers while others are models.
They can usually roll out a vertical mini-series within three or four months on some platforms such as Kalos TV, and to adapt to the requests of publishing time, they have to finish the filming in a matter of one or two weeks. Setting the schedule and dealing with the emergency can often be challenging.
Fortunately, the Chinese creators and their local colleagues work well as a team. Yang said that they often show Chinese mini-series to their American director and let them absorb some creative ideas.
"Some performers have gone viral through these mini-series, which was a goal they have not achieved in Hollywood movies."
The online ultrashort series market in China has surged since 2023. According to iiMedia, a market research firm, the ultrashort series market reached 37.39 billion yuan ($5.14 billion) in 2023, marking a 267.65 percent increase from the previous year.
Analysts from the iiMedia noted that China's mini-series going overseas will bring more possibilities and development direction for Chinese film and television enterprises. China's next cultural export could be these TikTok-style mini-series.
At the frontline of the ultrashort series going overseas, Yang and Sun also observed some dilemmas behind the prosperity. As the genres of the series presented to the audiences are still very limited, they worry that overseas audiences will soon be fatigued by the similarity of content available.
As a result, the fatigue will lead to unsustainable development of the industry.
Analysts pointed out that creativity in such genres and content is the key to maintaining the vitality of ultrashort series developing overseas.
Chinese youths studying abroad are trying to play a role as mavericks and gamechangers through exploring fresher genres even if the new content cannot reap rewards in the short time.
"We have expanded to some creative sub genres such as mafia gangs and will learn something new from domestic works centered on thriller and detective stories. We are willing to play a role in planting the seeds of Chinese culture in overseas soil, making more quality works blossom," Yang and Sun said.
