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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Movies and TV devider Viu launches vertical dramas

Viu launches vertical dramas

Published Jan 8, 2026 03:22 pm
Viu Shorts (Viu)
Viu Shorts (Viu)

The vertical drama market continues to heat up as video streaming service Viu launched its own Viu Shorts. 

The Viu Shorts is a new vertical video section available on the Viu mobile app. Viu said the new micro-drama complements its long-form series and movies, offering viewers a broader range of entertainment.

“We are thrilled to add a new facet to our service with the launch of Viu Shorts. This new feature brings viewers fast-paced storytelling in a 1–3 minute episodic format, perfectly complementing Viu’s extensive offering of premium long-form series and movies. With these bite-sized dramas now part of our offering, we aim to engage our audience according to their content preferences and provide enjoyable viewing for every moment,” said Janice Lee, CEO of Viu and managing director of PCCW Media Group. 

The key features of Viu Shorts are: 

⦁ Multi-lingual and multi-genre library: Viu Shorts features a diverse and expanding selection of micro-dramas in Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Indonesian. The library spans popular genres including romance, thriller, variety, and fantasy, all with subtitles in local languages.

⦁ Optimized for mobile: Built for vertical, bite-sized viewing, the Shorts section is integrated into the Viu app. A new bottom navigation bar allows users to switch effortlessly between short-form content and Viu’s full library of standard-length series and movies.

⦁ Freemium access model: Viu Shorts is available to all Viu users. Subscribers have unlimited access to the full micro-drama library, and free users can watch selected content. Ads may vary by subscription tier.

⦁ Diverse content partnerships: Viu has collaborated with micro-drama distributors Rising Joy and KT Studiogenie, as well as producers, including China Huace, 1001 Frames and Youhug Media, for a steady pipeline of content.

Featured titles available at launch include:

“Pear Perfect” - After a family tragedy plunges Shen Qingli into financial ruin, she crosses paths with Gu Heng—a notorious playboy secretly battling a human trafficking ring. As he shields her from Beijing’s dark underworld, unexpected connections and buried secrets ignite a journey of love, betrayal, and redemption.

"Pear Perfect" (Viu)

“The Most Painful Kiss In The World" - The protagonist, gifted with the power to absorb others’ pain through touch, is abandoned by an unfaithful husband—only to rediscover true love and destiny in an unexpected way.

"The Most Painful Kiss In The World" (Viu)

“My Husband Murdered Me” - When Hyang‑mi discovers her husband destroyed their family to be with his mistress, she allies  with a mysterious stranger to orchestrate a revenge so meticulous it could consume them all.

"My Husband Murdered Me" (Viu)
“Becoming the Wife of a Dark Cult Overlord”- The female protagonist is thrust into the deadly inner circle of a cult and becomes the wife of its ruthless overlord—uncovering dark secrets that blur the lines between survival, power, and forbidden love.
"Becoming the Wife of a Dark Cult Overlord" (Viu)
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