Is China reinventing the entertainment industry? So-called micro-dramas 微短剧 have quickly turned the streaming market upside down. These are online shows with an average episode length of two minutes and are best consumed on a smartphone. The stories, which are shot in vertical format, have to keep the audience hooked, so the plot twists and cliffhangers are as dramatic as possible. The stories often revolve around love and intrigue. Some of them are costume dramas inspired by Chinese history. Time travel has also been a popular theme since the streaming hit „I became a stepmom in the 80s 我在八零年代当后妈“.