Next-gen entertainment studio Cineverse and Banyan Ventures, the venture arm of former ABC Entertainment Group and WME chairman Lloyd Braun, have announced plans to launch a US-based studio and AI native platform built for microseries: serialised, short-form, mobile-first content designed for modern viewing habits.
The 50/50 JV is currently called MicroCo, but the consumer-facing name of the soon-to-launch platform will be announced at a later date. Former Showtime president Jana Winograde has been named as co-founder and CEO of the new business.
Commonly referred to as Microdramas, this vertical shortform format has exploded internationally, becoming a $7B+ market in China alone and generating hundreds of millions of views. MicroCo said: “Despite there being no premium US-based platform for this content, Microdrama Apps have dominated app store Entertainment rankings.”
MicroCo said the factors that set it apart are “a leadership team that combines world-class storytelling expertise with cutting-edge, proprietary technology”.
Targeting a market that has been projected to reach $10bn outside of China by 2027, MicroCo will produce low cost, high-quality content and deliver it directly to genre-driven audiences with an AI native platform built to foster and engage fan communities.
“The average person scrolls through hundreds of feet of content a day, but almost none of it is built to last,” said Braun. “We’re merging the storytelling rigour of series television with the pace, energy, and intimacy of short-form—creating addictive, emotionally rich, quality series that are developed specifically for this format.”
Cineverse chairman and CEO Chris McGurk added: “MicroCo will combine a new style of storytelling that engages fans and creators alike, with state-of-the-art technology that we have spent years developing, and an elite leadership team that includes some of our generation’s most successful media and content executives. The end result will be a category defining studio and platform. Early results in the space have underscored the massive strategic upside of this new format, including the opportunity to build an original IP engine with global monetization opportunities, to integrate brand partnerships, and support a robust creator economy flywheel.”
MicroCo’s original Microseries — running approximately 1–3 minutes per episode and designed for binge-watching will span multiple genres, from romance to horror, and will feature both live action and animated series. Cineverse already controls a large library of films, series, and podcasts—some of which may be adapted into Microseries.
Picture shows Jana Winograde while at Showtime; Courtesy Showtime
