Atresplayer has announced the premiere of the first Spanish vertical series. It is called ‘A Bride for Christmas’, it has 60 episodes of between 1 and 3 minutes, it is filmed to be viewed vertically on mobile phones and will be released on Flooxer. Starring Marina Baeza and influencer Carla Flila, the series tells a Christmas love triangle designed to be consumed like long tiktoks.
Why is it important. It is not just another series: it is Spain’s entry into the global phenomenon of microdramasa format that makes millions in China, India and Latin America.
Productions that condense drama, twists and cliffhangers in 90-second capsules, designed for brains accustomed to the frenetic pace of TikTok. Atresplayer has opted to adapt these fragmented consumption habits to Spanish audiovisual fiction.
The backgroundeither. This format He was born in China with the name duanjus and then it conquered markets like Brazil, where platforms like Kwai or ReelShort generate a lot of money in micropayments and subscriptions. In Latin America there are already local production companies, such as SDO Entertainment in Argentina with Bon Vivantor We Latam with its platform Vyco.
They all share the same premise: ultra-brief episodes, intense emotions, cliffhangers constants and a monetization model similar to that of video games.
Yes, but. The reactions in Spain have been mixed:
- Some see it as a necessary innovation to attract young audiences and adapt to the times.
- Others criticize it as a surrender to attention deficit, as if the vertical format were synonymous with superficiality.
The truth is that microdrama, conceptually, does not invent anything: serialized narratives, nineteenth-century soap operas or Latin American soap operas always played with suspense and concentrated emotion. Only the support and duration have changed.
Main winner? Platforms that understand first that attention is the scarce resource. Atresplayer is ahead of the rest of the Spanish audiovisual sector with this commitment.
- If it works, it will have opened a new front of content adapted to mobile phones.
- If it fails, at least it will have tried something different in a market saturated with traditional formats.
It doesn’t seem like it was exactly an expensive production.
Go deeper. The underlying debate is not whether two or three minute episodes are too short, it is whether we are capable of telling impactful stories at any length. And if we are willing to accept that the vertical screen not just any frikada but the dominant format for millions of people who see the world through their mobile phones.
Featured image | Atresmedia
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