Swipe, Pay, Cry: A $5 Billion Boom in 60-Second Soaps

Green shoots are rare in Hollywood these days, but some writers and actors are cashing six-figure checks in a format as questionable as its new Luigi Mangione series. Welcome to the world of microdramas: 60-second, phone-first serialized soap operas. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey unpack the sudden rise of white-hot vertical series. How is it not a punchline like Quibi? And what does it say about the other dreaded Q-word holding back Hollywood: quality? Plus, Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins joins with a scoop on Apple’s new competitive performance-based pay model — and why Jon Hamm is competing with... Jon Hamm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices