Micro drama apps such as ReelShort, FlickReels and DramaBox offer short clips that add up to movie-length stories. They're filmed vertically, so you can follow the twisty plotlines without turning your phone. Above, scenes from micro dramas Fake Married to My Billionaire CEO (left), True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee and Billionaire CEO's Secret Obsession. ReelShort hide caption
Jordan Chiles, Joy Reid, Duo the owl. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Prime Video; Isa Foltin/Hoermanseder via Getty Images hide caption
Karla Mosley as Dani Dupree Hamilton in Beyond the Gates on CBS. Quantrell Colbert/CBS hide caption
CBS has teamed with the NAACP to develop The Gates, which would become the first daytime soap with a predominately Black cast since NBC's Generations. Here, the CBS logo seen at the CBS Television City Studio in Los Angeles. Getty Images hide caption
A scene from the popular Ethiopian soap opera Yegna, which sends messages about health and well-being to its teen viewers. Topics range from child marriage to menstrual pads. @yegnaplayer via YouTube/ Screengrab by NPR hide caption
The idea behind "Musekeweya", or the New Dawn, is to do the opposite of what the government's notorious "hate radio" did 20 years ago as it stoked ethnic hatred during the genocide carried out by Hutu extremists. Stephanie Aglietti/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Christopher Scott served over a decade in prison, and while in the middle of the sentence, he developed a passion for soap operas. Justin Richmond/NPR hide caption
Agnes Nixon arrives at the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Las Vegas in 2010. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption
High school students in Tanzania gather in a Mental Health Listening Club — first comes the soap opera, then the chance to ask questions about topics like depression. Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco for Farm Radio International hide caption