Urban One, Inc. announced two original vertical microseries built for mobile viewing, joining a format that U.S. studios have rushed into over the past two years. The company said the first series, a corporate thriller called “Power & Influence,” premieres October 19 exclusively on BOSSIP’s TikTok account, @BossipTok, with a second series, the women’s basketball revenge drama “Foul Play,” currently in production.

Both series will run 20 episodes averaging 90 seconds each, the format that has driven a broader surge in vertical drama production. Microdramas are projected to generate $1.5 billion in U.S. revenue this year and nearly $2 billion in 2027, according to research firm Omdia, as the U.S. monthly audience for the format more than doubled last year to 66 million users, Omdia found. Platforms such as ReelShort and TikTok itself have functioned as the discovery layer that funnels viewers into paid vertical-drama apps.

Rather than premiering through a third-party vertical-drama app and converting viewers into paying viewers, Urban One is using TikTok purely as a launch point before routing the series across properties it already owns. “We are creating stories specifically for the way our audiences watch today,” said Allison McGevna, iONE Digital’s SVP of Content. “From the writing to the pacing and production, these microseries are built for mobile viewing, with compelling characters and stories that keep viewers coming back.”

Distribution Runs Through Urban One’s Own Ecosystem

Following the TikTok premiere, Urban One said the series will extend to its digital, television, streaming and audio platforms: editorial support across HipHopWired and MadameNoire, adapted versions for TV One and connected TV and free ad-supported streaming channels, and promotion across Radio One stations, REACH Media’s syndicated shows and the Urban One Podcast Network. The company reaches 80 million unique consumers monthly across a portfolio that includes TV One and CLEO TV in a combined 38 million households and iONE Digital’s 300 million monthly video views, according to the announcement.

“These microseries give brands an opportunity to connect authentically with our audiences through stories rooted in their culture and interests,” said Jeff Meza, Urban One’s EVP, Head of Branded Entertainment & Integrated Marketing, adding that partners can enter the stories “from the outset.”

“Power & Influence” stars Ivory Shields, Tanazia Madan and Jay Jones, and is written by Dreux Dougall and directed by Jamal Simmons. “Foul Play” marks the directorial debut of Ty Young, a former professional women’s basketball player and assistant coach, and is written by Tanya Hoffler-Moore.

The move places Urban One alongside a wave of established media companies adapting to the format, including Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which introduced unscripted microdramas on Peacock this summer, and Fox, which struck an equity-for-content deal with Holywater Tech’s My Drama app.

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