
Frayer et al., “AI is writing, acting and producing China’s minidramas”
AI-generated production has moved from experiment to dominant workflow in China’s mobile-first minidrama market. NBC News reports that about 95% of roughly 100,000 microdramas released in the first quarter of 2026 were produced entirely by AI, citing People’s Daily. A filming-base manager said production volume was down 60–70%, while a director estimated that AI production costs five to eight times less than live action. The shift is expanding what small productions can depict while displacing actors and crews and intensifying disputes over cloned faces and voices.