Channel 4 commissions first vertical microdrama
The Guest List is a five-part branded series for social platforms, developed with beauty brand Sol de Janeiro.
Translated from Dutch by AI
Channel 4 has commissioned The Guest List, its first vertical microdrama series. The project is produced by curly media and will launch on Channel 4’s social channels from 24 October, in partnership with Sol de Janeiro.
The Guest List consists of five short episodes about four young women in London. The storyline partly unfolds in their group chat and covers work, friendship and relationships. The series is made for vertical screens and will be distributed via Meta, TikTok and YouTube.
The commission is a collaboration between Channel 4’s digital commissioning department, producer curly media and beauty brand Sol de Janeiro. Zenith UK facilitated the commercial partnership. Each of the four characters is linked to a fragrance from the brand’s new Intense Mist line.
Channel 4 describes The Guest List as its first branded microdrama in this format. That makes the funding and distribution model more significant than the individual title: a broadcaster is using its editorial and production capacity for short fiction developed around a brand from the outset.
The cast includes Deba Hekmat, Jadesola Odunjo, Mia Ito Smith and Felicity Ali. Emma Walker is executive producer and Jade Greene is series producer. The commission was handled within Channel 4 by Ameenah Taher, digital commissioning executive.
The broadcaster has not published a production budget, expected viewing figures or arrangements for further exploitation. It is clear, however, that the project is not being launched primarily via a linear channel. For British producers, agencies and broadcasters, this is a concrete example of how vertical fiction, social distribution and brand communications are brought together in a single commission.
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The production and distribution details have been confirmed by Channel 4 and reported by LBB. Interpretations of the market significance are presented as analysis.
- Confirmed The Guest List is Channel 4’s first vertical microdrama. — Channel 4 describes it as its first branded microdrama in this field.
- Confirmed The series consists of five episodes. — Mentioned in Channel 4’s press release.
- Confirmed The series will launch from 24 October on Meta, TikTok and YouTube. — Channel 4 names these three social platforms and the launch date.
- Confirmed Sol de Janeiro, curly media and Zenith UK are involved. — The partners and production roles are listed in the official credits.
- Confirmed The budget and expected viewing figures are not public. — Neither is mentioned in the sources consulted.