I'm sick. If only somebody could help me.
Ohh. I certainly can't help you.
Ohh yes, get it. Ohhh, yeah.
Oh, oh, OK. Stop, stop right there.
Can we, can we cut for a second? Is anyone concerned with
anything we're doing here? Hey, guys, it's up to emergency.
Welcome. Welcome back to my channel.
And if the words vertical short don't mean anything to you, then
you definitely have been living under a rock.
And if you think that you haven't seen a vertical, yes,
you have. And no, I'm not just talking
about whatever just played in front of you right now because
you most definitely have seen one either with or against your
will when you're scrolling on TikTok and get your government
mandated ad every, I don't know, four to five scrolls.
You know those little random dramas that lead you to get an
app like drama box to see, I don't know, the big brother's
bad boy best friend doctor will kiss the nerdy girl.
That, my friends, is a vertical. You're holding back your whole
life. Let me show you what it feels
like to finally my girl. Is this what you want?
Kim? And Verticals, also called micro
dramas, are a serialized series shot and made to be watched on
your phone. You know, vertically.
They usually span about 20 to 100 episodes, with each episode
being about as long as a TikTok or around 1 to 3 minutes each.
And in every single episode, and yes, I mean every single one,
they end with a cliffhanger or something phrased to be a
cliffhanger to get you on to the next 60 to 90 seconds of the
series. And it kind of just feels like
this cataclysmic multiverse combination of like telenovela
writing, the structural modeling of like mobile games and the
editing and production quality of someone using iMovie for the
first time. And like didn't know how to
remove the fade to white transition all mixed into one
reel. Because let me be clear, these
things are not known for their cinematic qualities.
Like no one's going to verticals for their Oscar winning acting.
And actually they're going to them for the opposite with these
verticals becoming popular for their bad acting, cheesy writing
and low budget set and decoration.
And all these things are just par for the course and what
these dramas are kind of known for.
Another way that I like to think about it is like these verticals
are just the video form of like those CBS romance books with
Fabio on the cover. Just optimize and film for
TikTok and that's all fine and dandy.
But the reason why we're talking about verticals and vertical
shorts is, for one, because the content in these vertical shorts
can be extremely salacious and honestly can be considered a
form of softcore with plot points also being very
suggestive, like falling in love with my stepbrother or like a
secret between sisters. Like all the titles are.
Some of the most popular verticals are kind of strange
and the fact that these things are being advertised so brazenly
on platforms, TikTok, Facebook, and the likes is kind of
concerning, but even more so concerning.
On the back end, behind the scenes, the verticals industry
can be very exploitative to its actual actors and pretty much
everyone involved. And we need to talk about that
because again, if you haven't heard or seen verticals now, you
will in the very near future because it seems like the future
of entertainment, for better or for worse, is vertical content.
And you may be asking yourself, where did this vertical stuff
come from? Well, this vertical style of
entertainment content originated in China in the 20 tens and
began gaining traction in the US in 2023 with an uptick in 2025,
which is essentially when we began seeing big entertainment
companies start to take an interest in them and investing
heavily in them. Because unfortunately, these
verticals are not just a fad, or at least they don't seem to be.
And much like Ozempic, it seems like it is here to stay in
Hollywood because Hollywood, as the rumblings have been for a
while now, has been on the downturn as an industry.
And it seems that companies are jumping on the boom that are
verticals. And let me be clear, despite
what we're going to get into later in the video, not all
verticals are nefarious and creepy.
It just so happens that some of the most viral ones are.
But we'll start with some of the less creepy and nefarious ones.
But as a company that I am interested in seeing what they
do after announcing that they're joining verticals bandwagon is
Hooray Media, you know, Issa Rae's production company.
Like, yes, Issa's always on the cutting edge, but Hooray Media
just cut a deal with TikTok and Tik Tok's vertical drama app,
Pine Drama. And in a way, I am excited to
see what her company creates because it is the 2026 version
of her start on YouTube in 2011 with her web series, The
Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl.
And based on how initial reactions have been to that
vertical series, it's been very popular.
And I'm not necessarily shocked because Issa Rae would be the
only person I would want to see verticals from.
But I haven't even given it a full we'll watch yet.
But again, from what I've heard and what I've seen, it looks
like it's got a narrative and a storyline and people really like
it. So we shall see, I guess.
I mean, I don't expect it to be extremely smut filled and like
trope dependent like some of the other dramas that we're going to
get into, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And ES Race Company isn't the only company hopping into the
verticals business. Fox recently invested in
undisclosed amount to Holy Water, which is an AI first
company that has already produced vertical dramas using
Gen. AI, which I mean, of course
they're doing. And if this page doesn't
completely flatten your hopes for the entertainment industry,
I don't really know what will. Like, it just baffles me that
the careers that people dream so big and work so hard to attain
are all being passed on to slop tech companies to give us
essentially AI vertical slop. Like, you know, we just love
this timeline that we're living in.
I'm sorry, I needed a second to compose myself.
Moving on, some things that you can look forward to from this
company that Fox Entertainment Studios is producing include
things like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by
Obsession. And like, don't worry because
it's part of their deal. They're set to create like, I
don't know, like 200 vertical video titles.
And they also said that they would have development deals
with top Hollywood talent soon. So like, can you all imagine
Sedea being in like an AI slot vertical?
I think if you can and if we do, the end times are definitely
near. But that is neither here nor
there. And like, I don't want to be
dense here. Like, I know that it's fully
possible that vertical dramas are the next frontier, but there
is something about the way that these founders and execs talk
about it that kind of give me the vibes of like, when tech
Bros are trying to convince people about, I don't know,
like, crypto when like NFT's or like what else they be doing the
metaverse. Like, I just have to kind of see
it to believe it. And nothing that I'm seeing
makes you want to believe, at least not yet.
And it's also interesting and, like, not advising you to
actually do it. Like, if you scroll through Holy
Waters page, a lot of these vertical houses that
entertainment companies are investing in aren't even calling
themselves entertainment companies or production houses
or studios. They call themselves tech
companies. Like, they're not even going as
far to try and hide it. Like all they're really caring
about is money and data. And like, yeah, like, just look
at how this vertical actor and producer Eric so Mighty talks
about. It viewers that will say like
that they don't like watching the, you know, sexual assault
scene or the child scene or whatever.
If you don't watch it, if you actually don't watch it, the
apps, again, these aren't necessarily filmmaking apps.
They're tech companies that are putting stuff out.
They are data-driven. So if they see that you skipped
that part of the film, maybe we can inflict some change there.
And actually they'll be like, oh, maybe we don't need to have
900, you know, ridiculously overdramatized scenes.
So that's part of it as well. But also like it also comes down
to money. All, all of these apps are very
money focused. And if they have to, that's why,
if you've noticed, the subtitles never match what it comes out of
our mouth because they would have to put more money into
actually making sure the subtitles properly fit us.
So like it will cost money to actually have a content rating
on stuff. It, it, it's hard to inflict
that change. It would be great in in theory,
I think it'd be very helpful. But I, I, it's, it's, it's hard
to get these apps to do anything that that cost money.
They definitely know what they are.
And what's interesting about this is that it feels like art
or entertainment, whatever you want to call it, is increasingly
becoming made by the people that fund it.
And while I won't get into a whole art history lesson here,
it seems like the creatives, the artists, the writers, you know,
like the people that used to be funded and paid and commissioned
are being nixed and cut out of the process and are just being
seen as superfluous expenses. Because like, why would you pay
for someone that actually embodies the craft, has a love
for the game, and actually has the God-given talent to do it?
If people just watch something generated by AI, we end with
virtually no money out of pocket.
I don't know, it's kind of like the art, it's actually matter
and this is some people's livelihood and you shouldn't
just extract it for all that it's worth.
But again, I digress. I'll get off my homework for the
rest of this video. I just needed to get that off my
chest. And actually Speaking of chest,
crazy segue, I know. Well, let's actually get into
what you're actually here for. I know you're Bob.
I know y'all be freaked out and y'all seen the verticals and
been like, what is this or being like, oh, what is this?
But nonetheless, I know you gagged and let's address the
elephant in the room right now. What is this weird soft core
nature that is kind of entrenched in all of these
vertical shorts? Now let's be fair here, are all
verticals created equally freaky?
Now there are some that don't even talk in that tone at all,
such as Lisa Ray's screen time. But those non romantic and dare
I say erotic verticals do feel like the exception, not the
majority. Because the majority of
verticals that are popular and that are promoted online are
romance and even like smut censored plots, often times
having something to do with like a secret billionaire or like my
brother's best friend or like workplace sort of school themed
scenarios incessantly playing into those tropes that we've
seen time and time again on Grey's, Wattpad, AO3, and
whatever sites you end your nights on.
And the thing that'd be gagging me is that like they can get
pretty bad. Like even in making this video,
I'm like kind of scared because it kind of feels like I
shouldn't be able to play this on YouTube, but we're going to
try. So let's take a look at a few of
these ads. And of course, I hate to feel
like I need to say this, but just to be clear, I'm not
sponsored by any of these companies.
And this is not an ad. This is purely for entertainment
or reactionary purposes. And the theme here for a lot of
these is that like it's very like BL, like boys love coded,
at least the ones that have come up on my preview page and other,
there's a lot that are not that, but a lot of them have been
trying to RIP off of heated rapper's nachos because this
one's about a relationship between I think a hockey player
and his medical examiner. It's very odd.
Like let's just like just take a second to look how this starts.
He just. He's a fever.
And is. Is delirious right now.
I'm just going to take him to his door, OK, We could stop it
right there. Because what is going on?
What is actually going on? I think a part of the list that
really just drives like the vertical aspect of it is that so
much of it is crotch because it is like in a vertical format
that it just kind of elicits itself to be suggestive when it
probably isn't. Because there's no way that it
looks like they're having the time of their lives in front of
those other people and they're just cool with it.
Like it's meant and filmed to be suggestive and to pique people's
interests. Especially if you're just
scrolling along and see that pop up on your purview page.
Like you're going to be like, what am I watching?
And then what am I watching? And then if we really want to
talk about biting off heated rivalries, nachos, there is
literally a one called hockey rival.
You want me gentle or rough? I don't want you at all.
Hello, too bad. OK, not enough.
I did not know this before, but this one is just AI slop.
Like this one is just AI. And mind you, I've seen ads like
this from different scenes in this vertical that start just
like that. You're hearing Tremont TikTok
like coconut water. Scroll up and see some stuff
like this. Like this is strange, this is
strange, this is slop and this is the future of entertainment.
There's also another one called Breaking the Ice which I'm sure
is real. And like, what's with all of
these being hockey themed? Like Heated Revelry and Tate
Mccree's impact? Easton has a.
Full ride hockey scholarship and I will not let you ruin his
life. Oh my God, I love you Carolyn
Mills. You are going to break up with
him and you are going to get rid of that baby or else the acting
of this is just so bad. And the fact that it has like
that typical like AI slop speed up version of like a popular
song. Like why is Alicia Keys here?
Like why is this girl on fire? There's another one called How
to Tame a Silver Fox and it's looking like this one room into
my closet. When I wasn't here, I was doing
you a favor and helping you move out because you shouldn't be
here. Why is she handcuffed?
Why is he shirtless? And why is the ebook for this
also available on Amazon Kindle? Like there's so much going on, I
hate to see it. And there's this really
interesting Guardian article that has a whole list of them
that you can go check out. I'm going to try and link it
down in the description below. But this is all just so wild to
me because like, these are the ads that play on our public
TikTok forum. Like a lot of times the ads for
these will be the spiciest or raunchiest parts of the video.
And then just add fade to black and link you to whatever paywall
all drama app the micro drama is behind.
Like it's almost like commercialize edging.
Like I was saying, using those inescapable close frames to be
suggestive, like they're getting real creative out here.
And I don't like it. And like all forms of content,
like there is an audience for this because it's like this and
edited like this for a reason. My question for this is like,
who is this actually for? So there's a billion dollar
industry in entertainment who's watching the slop?
And I think it's so easy to be like, oh, this is dumb.
This is slop. Like no one's actually watching
this. Who's the real audience here?
As if big Youtubers haven't been making a pretty Adsense penny
from their eyewash flag vertical drama.
So you don't have to like, didn't I just do that?
Oops. And it's OK, it's OK.
You could say that you are intrigued by the seemingly
addictive, fast-paced, overly dramatic entertainment.
Like they're spending money making these for a reason.
And I don't know how steadfast these demographics are.
But seriously, when in doubt, cater to the untapped markets.
And that same Guardian article, vertical drama consultant Jen
Cooper states that the reason it's gone.
So big is that it's serving a massively underserved audience,
which is women who read romance novels.
You might watch them and think this is not the Godfather.
This is so bizarre. But then you look at romance
novels and you're like, ah, right, OK.
It's serving all that audience that couldn't find anything
anywhere else. And it meets people where they
are, which is on their phone. People pay more attention to
verticals because they're not also on WhatsApp at the time.
And also the call out to WhatsApp is crazy because that
definitely is setting an age for the certain demographic.
And like the specific data is all over the place.
But from what was gathered, the audience here is generally women
from 18 to 40 years old. I know a wide range, and I think
I get it. Hallmark has been making movies
for so long because it does have an audience, even when the
content itself isn't really amazing.
So when thinking about that demographic, it kind of does
sort of make sense. I also feel like it does hook
people in the way that like Coco Melon hooks babies on like a
psychological level. Like from the fast cuts, the
narrative, the high drama, the overacting, the high pitched
speed up music in the background.
Like sometimes you just can't look or swipe away.
But enough geeking in about the ridiculousness of these
verticals. We need to talk about the actual
real impact and why these things entering the industry are so
troubling. And I think this TikTok comment
really does set the tone stating that verticals are terrible
because it's top producers. They don't need to pay a union
wage, be union or higher writers and can just do AI.
They have set us backwards. So much for what unions fought
for. And I agree with that.
I feel like this is the start of something that is not beneficial
for anyone but the people actually making these shorts.
You know So what that a lot of companies are throwing massive
amounts of money at this form of entertainment.
Well, So what is right? This means that a lot of
entertainment resources and jobs are going to this and a lot of
the actors in these are kind of pigeonholing themselves to these
overacted and corny roles. I'm a * and this is really no
shade to anybody that does verticals or is interested in
getting into verticals because as an actor, you need to get
your experience. You need to get your back.
And I'm never going to knock anyone for that, nor am I going
to use that to speak to anyone's talent.
Like I'm sure you can be a great actor, but micro dramas and
verticals don't necessarily demand that kind of greatness
from its actors in the same way that previous forms of acting
and media have. Instead it over relies on things
like TikTok acting or like over face acting and snippy comments
and essentially looks casting. And the casting director says we
don't want a female lead over 25.
I use that kind of example as a comparison of you would never
say that about a male lead. Not only are actresses physical
appearances really put under the microscope, but they get asked
their weight why no one is putting them on a scale during
filming. They're two irrelevant stats
that casting directors are using to justify casting decisions
because they've kind of put those arbitrary numbers and
targets there. Whereas for the male lead it's
more just can you send me a photo with your shirt off?
Though comparatively I think the actresses are put under a lot
more. Pressure, like if you've ever
seen them, notice how they're actually never any people of
color in them, right? And not trying to put my DI in
verticals, but if this is where Hollywood is going, doesn't it
just feel like we're trying to find a loophole to revert to old
Hollywood without the glitz, the glam or the talent?
Like with verticals already. We got no unions and no black
and brown people. We're off to a great start here.
They were saying company loves Caucasian blue eyed people.
Have you noticed that? For sure, the blue eyes aren't a
necessity, but you definitely see that a lot.
And I think that's one of the main issues with verticals.
I'd love to see diversity, but you know, it has to do with most
of the clients that make these are from other countries where
this Western standard of beauty to them is white, blue eyes, and
that's what they want to see. But getting more into it, as
mentioned, a lot of these jobs, if not all, are non union roles
from both on and off screen roles.
You know what a big company just loves?
UN unionized and exploitative cheap labor.
Especially when it's really using all that work to teach AI
models to generate this type of content, putting less money into
production, offering fewer resources, and reclassifying
things that should be considered the norm a luxury like things
like accredited intimacy coordinators.
Because of the low budgets and because of the low budgets and
insanely fast turn around times, shooting schedules are often
maybe a week long to get all that content.
So as you may assume, these things are crazy hours for not
always great pay. Typical day on a vertical set.
My wardrobe doesn't fit. They have crew guys as extra
background. They're having me do stunts
despite never mentioning that before the booking.
Now the first two things I think you know it's going to happen on
a micro budget set. Crew is background, yeah,
wardrobe, probably no time for fittings.
But it was the third thing that I was particularly off put by.
I left a comment saying even on a micro budget movie with no
money, there is 0 excuse for anything that is unsafe.
And having actors do stunts when they did not agree to that, I
would say it's very unsafe. And again, I have to reiterate,
this is no tea, no shade to the people that are taking up this
kind of work. I completely understand the
state of the entertainment industry, the state of the
economy, and the state of the world right now.
But it just feels like this weird balance of like either be
OK with low pay and at best mediocre labor practices and at
worse exploitative work scenarios, or hey, they can get
generative AI to do it faster and cheaper and arguably worse.
And that's why unions are important, my friends.
Like, unions were created to avoid people being exploited.
But this all feels like some kind of freaky loophole to get
around all this. According to the Guardian, when
consulting Jen Cooper for actors in America, 90% of jobs on
actors access are verticals. It's what's being cast nowadays.
So really it's sink or swim for actors.
This gets extra tricky when you see the commentary of like real
casting agents don't like when you have verticals in your reel
or it's actually harder to get Hollywood roles coming from
verticals. There is a real stigma
associated with being a verticals actor, which as we did
mention, it's not exactly HBO level acting.
But if those are the roles that are out there, people got to pay
their bills. And I think this whole thing and
the rise of verticals is such an interesting conversation about
how industries are trying to keep up with the times and the
economy. Because no matter how you slice
it, we're witnessing the in slopification of yet another
entertainment media platform. And while in some cases people
are claiming this to be like some sort of innovation and
keeping up with the times, this ultimately is just a giant
response to the times that we're currently living in.
Because if the powers that be actually cared in the industry
actually cared, they would just put more money into things that
people actually care about and things that actually have value
as opposed to just trying to make a quick buck and try to
make as much money as possible without any form of actual love
and care for the game. And I'm not going to deny that
some of the vertical content can actually be really high quality
and can be entertaining. But as of right now, most of the
time this is all just some overly freaked out slot.