The ReelShort app lets users watch minidrama episodes, usually no longer than two minutes each and delivered in a vertical format for easy viewing on smartphones. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by screenshot from App Store and ReelShort's website)

China's minidrama producers set their sights on challenging Netflix

Ultra-short episodes and wacky plots help series flourish on social media

CISSY ZHOU and MARRIAN ZHOU, Nikkei staff writers

March 1, 2024 06:00 JST

HONG KONG/NEW YORK -- A college student from the present time wakes up to find herself transported back to 1980s China, where she meets a pig farmer with two children and relatives plotting to take advantage of his wealth. Instantly attracted to the farmer, she not only wins his heart but uses her modern-day thinking to teach the scheming relatives a lesson. The two end up happily married.