TikTok quietly launches a microdrama app known as ‘PineDrama’

TikTok has quietly released a new stand-alone short drama app called PineDrama in the U.S. and Brazil. The app offers access to microdramas, which are essentially bite-sized TV shows that can be watched in a series of one-minute episodes. Think TikTok, but every video you come across is a short episode of a fictional story.

PineDrama is available on iOS and Android. It’s free and currently ad-free, though that could change in the future.

The news was first reported by Business Insider.

You can find content through the app’s “Discover” tab, where you can sort through “All” or “Trending” dramas, or through endless vertical recommendations that are tailored to your taste. PineDrama features a variety of genres, including thriller, romance, family, and more. Examples of popular shows include “Love at First Bite” and “The Officer Fell for Me.”

The app features a “Watch history” section where you can jump back into the various series you’re watching. There’s also a “Favorites” section where you can save the dramas you like the most. You can also share thoughts with other viewers in the comment section and enter a full-screen viewing experience that gets rid of the caption and sidebar.

The move comes as TikTok launched a “TikTok Minis” section in its app late last year, where users can watch microdramas. With the launch of PineDrama, TikTok is taking on popular microdrama platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox. While the microdrama industry wasn’t that popular until recent years, it’s racing toward $26 billion in annual revenue by 2030, as reported by Variety.

Short-form storytelling hasn’t always found success, even with notable backing. In 2020, DreamWorks co-founder and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg launched a short-form streaming platform called Quibi with $1.75 billion in funding. The platform offered episodes under 10 minutes featuring popular Hollywood actors, but failed to gain traction and was shut down six months later.

ReelShort and DramaBox succeeded where Quibi failed because while Quibi tried to compress Hollywood TV into shorter episodes, ReelShort and DramaBox created low-budget stories that hook viewers within the first few seconds, followed by continuous cliffhangers, all featuring non-union talent. Additionally, they target fans of soapy romance and revenge thriller stories, while Quibi tried to target everyone.

TikTok is now looking to replicate this success with PineDrama. The company already dominates the short-form social media space and is now aiming to take on another media category.