TikTok announced its second microseries partnership — this time with digital creators at the center.
The microseries will be produced in partnership with creator management company Made By Us, the companies announced during TikTok’s presentation at MIPCOM Cannes. The companies inked a multiyear deal to co-produce a slate of creator-led vertical series exclusively for TikTok and its microdrama counterpart, PineDrama.
The first two series will star comedy creators Hannah Stocking and Adam Rose, with each leading their own microseries.
“Micro-series are pioneering a new language of storytelling,” Dawn Yang, global head of entertainment & micro-series at TikTok, said. “We’re thrilled to partner with Made By Us on a slate that puts creators at the center, alongside established producers and industry talent, to tell stories designed for the feed from the start. This is an exciting step forward in our continued investment in the next generation of premium vertical storytelling on TikTok and PineDrama.”
Stocking’s series, “Player,” is a romantic revenge thriller produced by Jonas Barnes. The series was directed by Louiza Zouzias and written by Arun Blair-Mangat and Chela Reyna, with Stocking also receiving a co-story credit. She also serves as an executive producer.
This isn’t Stocking’s first microseries. She played a supporting role in one of the first-ever SAG microdramas, “Playback,” portraying a cunning mean girl.
Rose will star opposite “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” Zaria Simone in a “new genre” microseries. The series was created and directed by R.H. Stavis and executive produced for Spooky Pictures (“Paranormal Activity”, “Weapons”) in collaboration with Moby’s Little Walnut Productions.
“Creators have already transformed how audiences discover talent, culture and entertainment. Vertical series are the next evolution of that relationship,” co-CEO of Made By Us Studios Tanya Cohen said. “The opportunity isn’t to make smaller versions of television—it’s to build an entirely new premium storytelling language around the way audiences actually consume entertainment today. TikTok understands that behavior at a global scale, and together we have the opportunity to build franchises with creators who arrive with audience, community and cultural relevance already built in.”
The partnership is intended to involve the creator from the jump to integrate them and their eye towards their audience into the storytelling.
TikTok’s first microseries collaboration was with Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media. Their microdrama “Screen Time” amassed nearly 580 million views across TikTok and PineDrama globally since its premiere in April. It is the top performing show ever on TikTok and PineDrama, showcasing the demand for more premium vertical scripted content.
