Hong Kong Comedy Legend Stephen Chow Producing Online Mini-Dramas

Stephen Chow, aka Chow Sing-Chi, ostensibly the King of Hong Kong Comedy behind hits and classics like Shaolin Soccer, Chinese Odyssey, Justice My Foot!, The Mermaid, God of Cookery, and many others has signed a deal with Douyin, the Chinese sister company of TikTok, to produce a slate of online mini-drama series for mainland China.

Mini dramas are professionally-generated online series that have become hugely popular in China and to getting a foothold in the rest of Asia. The series can run from 20 to 100 episodes of 1-15 minutes each, though episodes lasting around 4 minutes are becoming the norm, bite-sized episodes with a vertical aspect ratio that can be easily streamed on phones that can be snuck in during breaks at school or work. The most popular genres are comedy and romantic drama, and many are derived from web novels; some even have supernatural themes.

In a statement on Douyin's WeChat social media feed, the company announced that Chow's first series project is called "Jinzhu Yuye" and is currently a work-in-progress that could be delivered by May. Chow, who is known to be a very hands-on director in his comedy projects, teaching the actors exactly how to deliver their lines, their facial reactions, and even how to time their lines for maximum comedic effect, is said to be working with other creators on his upcoming mini-drama slate.

Chow has been a successful businessman in Hong Kong and China, diversifying his revenue sources with, among other things, a stock market-listed company and a large property portfolio. With the Douyin deal, Chow called the mini-drama format a "fast-growing sector of technology and media innovation."

According to Variety, the mini-drama sector has grown quickly over the past five years, along with short video platforms operated by Bytedance (Douyin and TikTok), Kuaishou, and Tencent Holdings. Quoting research firm iiMedia, Chinese state media recently reported that the sector grew by more than 250% in 2023 to reach gross revenues of $5.2 billion (RMB37.4 billion). That would make it roughly 70% of the size of the theatrical cinema market in China, which last year was worth $7.4 billion. The same source forecasts that the market could triple again, reaching some $15 billion, by 2027. Business models vary. Typically, the first few episodes are available free of charge. After that, fees and subscriptions kick in where paying for the rest of the series is relatively inexpensive. Episodes end on cliffhangers, which makes the shows addictive, so fans need to see what happens next and will pay up for the privilege. A hit show like Unparalleled, produced by Xi'an Fengxin Culture, earned gross revenues of $14 million in its first eight days of release in August last year. Signing a big name like Stephen Chow could be a game changer in the business.

There are production costs, platform fees, and promotional expenditures, of course, because the shows have to look slick and professional. But with very low production costs, the sector is attracting new players and new finance. In recent weeks, both Douyin and Kauishou have increased incentives to producers. Chinese regulators (in other words, censors)  are keeping an eye on the fast-growing mini-drama sector for potentially controversial material. The National Radio and Television Administration said that it had removed 350,000 episodes between March and November last year. Series can disappear suddenly as if they never existed. Stephen Chow's work will have to operate within censorship restrictions, which have a tendency to shift.

The genre is also beginning to head to the US. Chinese-owned ReelShort is a mini-drama app with over 10 million downloads on the Google Play store that is available in multiple language versions, including English with very cheap but slick productions made in Hollywood providing non-union work to actors and below-the-line personnel like cinematographers, art designers, directors and crew during dry periods such as last year's industry-wide strike. Supernatural romances like the type you used to find on CW but cheesier and faster are the norm. If nothing else, Stephen Chow's mini-comedies would be a lot funnier and fun.