Virtue Asia, V47 Entertainment and COL Group have unveiled a 2027 microdrama slate that combines proven audience hits, established Korean entertainment IP and original formats designed to bring brands into the stories audiences actively choose to watch.
Revealed at Inside Microdramas in Singapore — the first dedicated upfront for microdramas —the portfolio spans the genres driving microdrama today, from romance, billionaire and CEO fantasy to revenge arcs and thriller-mystery hybrids, while pushing into newer territory including talent competitions and reality formats.
Together, they build on the genres and storytelling mechanics that are already attracting significant audiences to microdrama, the region’s fastest-growing entertainment format, while exploring where it can go next.
Inside Microdramas, the world’s first dedicated upfront for microdramas and the expanding vertical entertainment economy was launched to create a marketplace where brands, creators, platforms and producers can collaborate on entertainment-driven IP.
The 2027 slate brings together some of COL Group’s best-performing microdramas, drawing on its established catalogue and experience in vertical storytelling, alongside successful webtoons and web novels from CJ Group (Shortnapse) that are ready for adaptation into vertical formats, and original IP from V47 Entertainment developed specifically around the storytelling that make microdrama work.
Highlights
Proven microdrama IP: Drawing on an established catalogue of microdramas, the slate includes ‘Oops, I Married My Bestie’s Brother!’, one drunken Vegas wedding, one hidden identity and a groom who’s been in love with her all along; ‘My Sweetheart’s a Gangster’, after her fiancé cheats, a village doctor swears off love, then falls for a ruthless mob boss who’s soft only for her; and ‘From Janitor to Mrs. Billionaire’, janitor Alice unknowingly marries a billionaire, only to discover he’s her boss, and his secretary is determined to destroy her.
International Korean IP adaptations: Successful Korean webtoons and web novels from CJ Group (Shortnapse) bring established stories and built-in adaptation potential to the vertical format. ‘Idol Once Again’, a failed idol gets a second shot at debut when a plane crash sends him back into his 19-year-old body, but this time with years of insider knowledge; and ‘The Exclusive Secretary’, an accident turns an angelic heir ruthless, and his live-in secretary becomes his closest ally in a deadly succession war.
New original IP: The slate also pushes microdrama into new territory with original concepts built around participation, competition and suspense. ‘1% Better’, two ordinary people, one fitness challenge, zero excuses. As unlikely rivals push each other to their limits, they discover that the person they wanted to beat might be the reason they finish; ‘The Vanishing Act’, on the night of the global live finale of the world’s number one talent competition, dynamic magician Milo performs his signature act, ‘The Vanishing’, but never returns. The truth is the real trick; and ‘Fortune Chasers’, the contestants think they’re playing the market. They don’t realise they’re the ones being traded.
The 2027 lineup has been designed to empower brands to participate in microdrama entertainment in new ways, from product integration within existing properties through to becoming part of the story world, commissioning new formats or developing original IP of their own.
“For too long, branded entertainment has treated content as promotion: something bought on the media plan that disappears when the campaign ends. This slate is built on a different principle, content as product, designed for attention not interruption,” said David Webster, chairman of V47 Entertainment.
“We’re bringing brands into the writers’ room, not just the media plan, so they can shape the story while it’s still being written and hold a real position in what it becomes. Every property has been built with franchise potential from day one, so a marketing budget stops being a cost and starts building an asset that keeps working long after the campaign.”
Timothy Oh, group, global chief marketing officer and general manager of COL Group International added: “At COL Group, we’ve seen first-hand what makes microdramas resonate with audiences and how compelling stories can travel across markets. We see a real opportunity for brands to go beyond traditional advertising and become part of the entertainment audiences actively choose to watch.
By bringing together our genre expertise and international distribution network with the creative strengths of V47 and VIRTUE, we’re helping brands develop original entertainment IP that can build lasting audience connections and grow across platforms and markets.”
During the presentation, V47 Entertainment, COL Group and VIRTUE Asia also announced the launch of Story Engine, an end-to-end operating model leveraging the specialisms of VIRTUE Asia for cultural strategy, brand integration and content production; V47 Entertainment for entertainment development and investment; and COL Group for genre expertise and distribution.
“Brands can no longer rely on interrupting culture to get noticed, they need to earn their place in it. Microdramas offer an exciting opportunity, but success depends on understanding the culture, the audience, and the storytelling that makes people want to keep watching. Our role is to bring those worlds together – translating cultural insight into creative integration that feels native to the story and adds value to the audience experience, not just visibility for the brand,” said Lesley John, CEO at VIRTUE Asia.
Held at Singapore’s IMBA Theatre, Inside Microdramas speakers reflected the need for brands to know what they are investing for, why integration should be structural rather than cosmetic, and why greater participation in entertainment requires a different relationship with creative control. They also challenged the instinct to make microdrama behave more like traditional television. As the format continues to mature, the opportunity is to elevate the quality of writing, casting and world-building without erasing the pace, tropes, cliffhangers and serial mechanics that made audiences choose it in the first place.
The evening concluded with Greenlight Sessions, connecting marketers directly with the creators, producers and strategists behind the 2027 slate.
