Patreon Preview – 478. Keep Honking, I’m Watching Microdramas While Weaving Through Traffic

We discuss a deep dive into the ascendency of microdramas – the short-form video series that are already bigger than the conventional film industry in China and are quickly taking over studios in Hollywood. We chat about the financial and cultural antecedents of microdramas, and the strange impacts of these videos on media production and consumption today, and the unevenly distributed futures of AI generated entertainment.

••• Are 60-Second Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/magazine/microdramas-tv-shows-hollywood-entertainment.html

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)