ByteDance Launches Dramagic, AI Platform for Short Drama Production

ByteDance has launched Dramagic, a full-pipeline AI platform designed for producing short dramas, as of September 21, 2026. In Q1 2026, China saw the publication of 128,000 short dramas, a figure that is three times higher than the total for the previous year, with 95 percent of these dramas being AI-generated. The industry currently employs approximately 690,000 people. Shen Yang, a professor at Tsinghua University, noted that the cost of producing one minute of AI video ranges from $90 to $120. This development aligns with the increasing reliance on AI in content creation, as evidenced by the significant growth in AI-generated short dramas in the Chinese market.