LayarHijau.com – Kuaishou, one of China’s largest short video platforms, has announced that it will shut down all drama content delivered through mini programs starting June 17, 2025. This move marks the end of a significant chapter in the rise—and now fall—of micro-short dramas in China, a format that once generated explosive popularity and profits, as reported by Sohu.
The closure comes amid renewed public scrutiny following a viral controversy involving a short drama in which the female lead gives birth to 99 babies—an over-the-top storyline that many netizens criticized as absurd, exploitative, and emblematic of the moral decline of ultra-short dramas.
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What is Kuaishou?
Often referred to as China’s alternative to TikTok (Douyin in China), Kuaishou is a major short video platform with hundreds of millions of daily active users, especially in lower-tier cities and rural areas. In addition to short-form entertainment, the platform hosts livestreaming, e-commerce, and even serialized drama content.
Mini Programs: A Drama Gold Rush That Turned Sour
Mini program dramas are not regular videos. Instead, they are delivered through lightweight apps embedded inside Kuaishou or WeChat, often developed by third-party companies. The viewing model is simple: users watch the first few episodes for free, then pay a small fee to unlock more—often leading to impulsive microtransactions.
This format briefly created a “get-rich-quick” myth in China’s entertainment industry. In August 2023, for instance, a WeChat mini program drama titled Wushuang earned over 100 million yuan in just eight days, sparking a frenzy of similar productions across Kuaishou, Douyin, and WeChat.
However, problems soon surfaced:
Low-quality, repetitive content designed purely for clickbait.
Unethical and controversial plots, glorifying violence, toxic relationships, or outdated gender roles.
Lack of oversight, as content was delivered through third parties outside the core platforms.
Unregulated payment models, leading to user complaints and fraud concerns.
In late 2023, both Kuaishou and Douyin began tightening regulations. Just days before this shutdown announcement, Kuaishou and WeChat jointly launched a crackdown on illegal mini programs, removing over 100 non-compliant dramas and penalizing more than 90 accounts.
Not all short dramas are going away
It’s important to clarify: this shutdown only affects dramas distributed via mini programs. Short dramas uploaded directly to Kuaishou’s main platform—like regular user videos—are unaffected and remain a growing part of the ecosystem. These “native” short dramas are easier to regulate and often produced in collaboration with official studios.
A shift toward quality and regulation
This move signals a broader transformation in China’s digital content industry: from click-driven chaos to more structured, professionalized content. The mini program model, once hailed as a revolutionary monetization tool, is now seen as outdated and problematic.
By shutting down mini program dramas, Kuaishou effectively closes the door on a controversial era of “instant content” and opens the way for healthier long-term growth in the micro-drama space.
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