The 90-Second Show You Can't Stop Watching
You've probably seen them without knowing they had a name: short, intense vertical videos, revenge plots, secret affairs, shocking betrayals, served up in 90-second episodes designed to hook you into watching the next one immediately. They're called microdramas, and they're quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing entertainment formats on the planet.
Canada, according to a new CBC Arts report, is positioning itself to be a major player in producing them.
What Makes Microdramas Work
The formula is deceptively simple. Each episode ends on a cliffhanger. The production values are intimate, close-up faces, emotional confrontations, minimal sets. The aspect ratio is vertical, shot for phone screens. The pacing is relentless. Producers describe it as soap opera energy compressed into a format designed for someone waiting in line for coffee.
Canada's Production Opportunity
For the Canadian entertainment industry, microdramas represent something genuinely new: a format with low production costs, high audience appetite, and no established American giant dominating the space yet.
Producers are already filming microdrama content in Toronto, Vancouver, and smaller cities where location costs are manageable. The format's low overhead means Canadian creators can compete with international studios in a way traditional TV production doesn't allow. It's also creating real jobs, writers, directors, and actors working at a pace the format demands.
Ottawa's Creative Community and the New Format
Ottawa's screen industry is smaller than Toronto or Vancouver, but the city has genuine creative infrastructure in film and digital production. Microdramas don't require large crews, a compelling story, a good camera operator, and a couple of strong actors can produce content that travels globally.
Source: CBC Arts
