Scripted

The Portuguese public broadcaster RTP has premiered five original scripted micro-series designed specifically for smartphone viewing, aligning with a growing global audiovisual trend. Produced by SPi, these five series—"Herança Fatal", "A Casa dos Outros", "Além do Silêncio", "Sextortion", and "Sabores de Amor"—consist of episodes lasting just over one minute. The content is being rolled out this week on the RTP Play streaming service and across the network's social media profiles.

The project is considered a pioneer in generalist micro-drama production in Portugal. Industry data suggests that this format is gaining massive traction, with major global players like Disney already incorporating vertical fiction into their digital offerings.

"The phenomenon has much to do with that, where consumption nowadays is very diversified. Generalist television continues with excellent audiences, but we know that there is a tendency for a diversification of media," explained screenwriter and producer Pedro Lopes. "More than there being a strategy of audience recovery by traditional media, it is to have a production for different media, for different devices and, in this case, to meet the places, let's say, where the audience also is," Lopes added.

"We have a series about domestic violence, we have a series about the disclosure of intimate photographs on the Internet, for example. We have a series about the difficulty that young people have, nowadays, in renting a house in large urban centers and leaving their parents' home," the producer detailed.

"It is not by chance that data came out this week in which the revenues of this area of micro-dramas and vertical fiction surpassed the streaming platforms, for example. It is not by chance that Disney also announced the incorporation of micro-dramas and vertical fiction in its own streaming platform," he stated.

"We believe that there is space in the Portuguese market for a new form of consumption, of a new genre that is beginning to be massified in different territories," Lopes concluded.

José Fragoso, Program Director at RTP1, emphasized that this move is part of the broadcaster's broader strategy to invest in a wide spectrum of fiction, spanning from linear television to platform-exclusive content. By utilizing RTP Play and social networks like TikTok and Instagram, RTP aims to reach younger demographics and adapt to the reality of multi-screen usage.

The series were directed by Manuel Amaro da Costa and serve as a pioneering effort in the Portuguese market. Industry projections suggest the global micro-drama sector could reach a valuation of 22 billion euros by 2030, as more countries develop localized ecosystems for short-form, high-impact storytelling.

"The phenomenon has much to do with the fact that consumption today is very diversified. Generalist television continues with excellent audiences, but we know there is a trend towards media diversification," stated Pedro Lopes. "We believe there is room in the Portuguese market for a new form of consumption, of a new genre that is beginning to become massive in different territories."