How Chinese short dramas became AI content machines

Chinese short drama companies are rapidly adopting generative AI to produce content at unprecedented scale and speed. An average of 470 AI-generated short dramas were released daily in January, with platforms like FlexTV halting all traditional productions in favor of AI. Production costs have dropped 80–90% and timelines shrunk from months to weeks. New roles like 'AI asset curator' are replacing traditional film crew positions, while writers must now describe scenes with visual specificity to guide AI models. Companies like Kunlun Tech and StoReels are scaling AI productions aggressively, targeting a global microdrama market estimated at $11 billion in 2025. The shift is disrupting creative workers, with script rates falling and projects being canceled, while enabling genres previously too expensive for the format.