Beyond Views:
The New Taste Economy—Winning Attention Across Borders
In the concluding part of our four-part series, we explore audience genre preferences across regions, providing a snapshot of how viewers are consuming micro-dramas—and where the strongest opportunities are emerging globally.
According to the 2025 Overseas Micro Drama Industry Report (Full Year) published by the Micro Drama Study Room (短剧自习室), overseas micro-drama consumption is becoming increasingly diversified. The once-dominant "domineering CEO" and "werewolf" genres are gradually giving way to a broader range of narratives.
In mature paid markets such as North America and Japan, audiences are increasingly embracing diverse romance-driven stories, including campus settings, LGBTQ+ themes, age-gap relationships, taboo identities, and strong female protagonists. Meanwhile, emerging markets such as India, Indonesia, and the Middle East continue to demonstrate strong demand for "underdog comeback" narratives, particularly through sports, family dramas, and gangster-themed stories.
North America
Compared with 2024, the live-action micro-drama landscape has become noticeably more diverse. Campus-based stories and LGBTQ+ narratives have gained significant traction, while the previously dominant werewolf genre has declined in popularity. Urban settings and strong female-led stories are also on the rise, driven by emotionally engaging narratives with strong viral potential (Source: HuntMobi). Within AI-generated micro-dramas, platforms are increasingly favouring imaginative, high-concept genres that extend beyond the limitations of traditional production (Source: Content Republic).
Japan
Japanese platforms continue to push genre innovation within live-action micro-dramas, with growing experimentation around fantasy concepts such as reincarnation, as well as Boys' Love (BL) narratives (Source: WAGA).
India
Sports-themed content—particularly motorsports and racing—has experienced notable growth (Source: RISINGJOY). Regional preferences also vary considerably. Audiences in southern and western India gravitate towards romance and internationally themed stories, while viewers in northern India continue to favour traditional, high-conflict family dramas and melodramatic narratives, including mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships (Source: B603).
Indonesia
"The underdog's rise" has emerged as one of Indonesia's most compelling narrative archetypes. Many viewers, particularly in lower-tier cities, identify strongly with everyday working-class protagonists such as delivery riders, domestic helpers and receptionists. Stories featuring hidden identities, family reunions, unexpected twists and romantic payoffs consistently generate high audience engagement (Source: ReelBuzz).
Middle East
Audience preferences remain relatively concentrated and consistent. Gangster-themed stories and hidden-identity narratives continue to perform strongly, making them among the most reliable genres across the region (Source: RISINGJOY).
Four parts. One conclusion. Micro-dramas are no longer an emerging format—they are redefining how the world creates, distributes and consumes entertainment. The opportunity now lies in understanding where audiences are headed next.