Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The emergence of micro dramas led to transformation of China’s entertainment industry, cutting costs for sets and boosting jobs for newer actors. There were early estimates that the micro-drama market would be worth $14bn by 2027.
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But now the emergence of AI tools has changed things once again. Actors and sets can be generated with AI, so production has accelerated and costs have lowered even further. The quality of the content has also massively changed thanks to the uncanny visuals AI can make.
We speak to BBC Global China Unit’s Mengchen Zhang about how this is affecting actors in China especially. We also hear about concerns around rights and the use of people’s likeness in this style of content.
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Catching up with our micro-drama correspondent
02:04 What do AI micro-dramas look like?
02:20 Repetitive plots and recycled characters
05:44 How actors are losing jobs
06:54 Stealing faces and consent
08:20 Are viewers still watching?
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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Emma Louise Amanshia, Benita Barden and Emily Horler
Video producer: Benita Barden
Editor: Verity Wilde
----------------
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#BBCWorldService #WorldService #china #microdrama #ai
The emergence of micro dramas led to transformation of China’s entertainment industry, cutting costs for sets and boosting jobs for newer actors. There were early estimates that the micro-drama market would be worth $14bn by 2027.
Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 bbc.in/3VyyriM
But now the emergence of AI tools has changed things once again. Actors and sets can be generated with AI, so production has accelerated and costs have lowered even further. The quality of the content has also massively changed thanks to the uncanny visuals AI can make.
We speak to BBC Global China Unit’s Mengchen Zhang about how this is affecting actors in China especially. We also hear about concerns around rights and the use of people’s likeness in this style of content.
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Catching up with our micro-drama correspondent
02:04 What do AI micro-dramas look like?
02:20 Repetitive plots and recycled characters
05:44 How actors are losing jobs
06:54 Stealing faces and consent
08:20 Are viewers still watching?
Watch more episodes from What in the World here 👉🏽 youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4eMOlGZclzdcHmv7s8BFQE6
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Emma Louise Amanshia, Benita Barden and Emily Horler
Video producer: Benita Barden
Editor: Verity Wilde
----------------
This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel.
If you like what we do, you can also find us here:
Instagram 👉🏽 instagram.com/bbcworldservice
Twitter 👉🏽 twitter.com/bbcworldservice
Facebook 👉🏽 facebook.com/bbcworldservice
BBC World Service website 👉🏽 bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio
Thanks for watching and subscribing!
#BBCWorldService #WorldService #china #microdrama #ai
