The Guardian (UK)
Open Channel 4’s new social media drama has 90-second episodes – and it’s as enjoyable as watching advertsVertical dramas are a global phenomenon made in bite-sized addictive chunks to watch on phones. But Channel 4 has made a slow-release syrupy tale in five parts – without tension or actual drama Vertical dramas – that is, short-form content made specifically for phones – are big business in 2026. They are particularly popular in countries such as China and India, and the global market is expected to be worth $26bn by 2030. It makes sense: much has been made of the double-screening epidemic, and of people scrolling so much that Netflix has to remind them what is going on on their TV screens every few seconds. Why not just cut out the middleman and ditch the telly bit altogether?
Enter Channel 4, which has released its first vertical drama on social media in the UK. It’s described as “a bold, character-led series” that explores “the friendship, ambition and lives of a diverse group of intelligent young women”. The Guest List is made in partnership with the skincare brand Sol de Janeiro, and episodes are around 90 seconds to two minutes in length. The microdramas that have gripped Asia are camp and cliffhanger-heavy – one producer described them as “soap operas on cocaine”. The Guest List is less cocaine, more Coke Zero: sweet, syrupy, probably not bad for you but not especially good either. Anodyne. Sort of like watching the adverts before a YouTube video, instead of pressing the skip button at your earliest convenience.
Part of the issue might be that many of these bite-size dramas release all their episodes at once, and viewers could watch 100 instalments in a day (if that sounds a lot, consider that a TikTok or Instagram user could devour many hundreds of shortform reels in 24 hours). Channel 4, however, is airing just one episode per week. If the idea is to get viewers addicted, surely 90 seconds every seven days will not cut it. Besides, I’m three episodes in and I barely know who is who. Will it be a month before I find out? There are also a mere five episodes in total; while this is the broadcaster’s first foray into the format, it does feel rather slight.
That is not to say it isn’t fun. Episode one follows Amaka (Jadesola Odunjo) who – according to the publicity bumf – is “a PR guru who is bold, energetic and impossible to ignore – just like [the Sol de Janeiro perfume] Intense Mist Cheirosa 62”. It opens with her inviting friends to an exclusive boat party on the Thames ... only to have her phone snatched by a thief. She commands a passing rickshaw driver “Follow that bike!”, as she mourns the loss of “every client, every influencer, my press contact … my bank card”. (Could our reliance on our phones perhaps be bad?! Very meta). With barely 30 seconds to go and Amaka now arguing with the rickshaw driver who has realised he won’t get paid, I am hooked. Nothing else really happens, truth be told, but it could have. There is youth. There is possibility. There is excellent eyeshadow. There is a woman telling Amaka that the Thames is now a 45-minute walk away.Next week’s episode finds finance intern Bella (Felicity Ali) on a work call, being patronised by her boss. She messages her mates: she won’t have time to go home and get changed before the boat party. A text pings from one of them: “ambition is your dress code”. Yes, girlboss! She fashions a dress out of a blazer, and uses her tie as a belt. (Carrie Bradshaw, eat your heart out.) Meanwhile, the episode due for release on 4 November is perhaps the most relatable for me – Mika (Mia Ito Smith) racing to collect her parcel from the corner shop then squatting in an aisle so her neighbour doesn’t see her in her sweatpants.
I’m quite intrigued to find out whether the girls make it to that party, but the thought of waiting weeks to find out is the antithesis of what vertical dramas are all about. Releasing the episodes so far apart – refusing to hijack our eyeballs, glue us to our phones and make us cancel all social plans for the foreseeable future – just isn’t the microdrama way. Until Channel 4 is willing to give us the entire Guest List cinematic universe, this feels more like a gen Z Boots ad than the future of British television. Continue reading...