Return of the Short Story

I think that several companies these days have hit on the next big wave of Series Production, short episodes that are 10 minutes or less, to be viewed on the telephone. Certainly Quibi is banking on the idea, and my own company Fairylight Studios Inc., is working on "Tricksters" that uses the 10 minute or less episode format. You can think of it as the streaming equivalent of the penny novel, or short stories that ran in magazines in days gone by.

The truth is that people today want entertainment they can watch while on a break, riding to work, or waiting in line. The 10 minute or less format episodes allows them to watch a series that completes a story segment in that short space of time, that they can pick up again in their next free moment without losing story momentum or dynamics. It's fast, it's convenient and that is the name of the game these days.

It's also a great deal for actors and studios. A short segment like that means that their usually won't be a huge amount of other actors in the episode, which means that they can use the majority of a single episode in their demo reel. On the studio end, you can film several episodes at a lower cost, see if it grabs an audience and know much faster if it's worth the time and effort to continue the Series, and if it takes a while to catch fire, well the short filming format with limited actors and locations, makes it easier to pick back up again.