Earlier this year, as a sponsor, I had the surprise opportunity to travel to Hollywood for the Vertical Drama Love Fan Awards and personally present one of the three prizes I sponsored to the winner. I got to meet many great Vertical actors and, most importantly, take a look behind the scenes. That impressed me so much that I decided to take a closer look at the Vertical Drama phenomenon.
Shortly after the awards, AI-generated characters emerged, and suddenly an entire industry seemed to be changing. I found myself wondering what effect AI would have on the future of vertical dramas and what fans thought about it.
That’s why, in June/July 2026, I came up with the idea of conducting a fan survey. I quickly found enthusiastic supporters for my crazy idea, as well as very interested industry insiders who were eager to see the results.
So there was a lot of pressure to do justice to everyone and remain as neutral as possible. This was difficult given the way media is consumed and the widespread, sometimes unnoticed use of AI.
