Actress and comedian Issa Rae, best known for creating and starring in the hit comedy Insecure as well as appearing in Barbie and Black Mirror, has ventured into digital storytelling with a brand new microdrama called Screen Time.
Partnership with TikTok
Issa's production company Hoorae Media teamed up with TikTok to launch the short-form series, designed specifically for mobile-first audiences. Screen Time follows four friends on a casual double date night that goes wrong when their phones are hacked.
"Their secrets stream across their television like a bad dream. Trust unravels at the speed of a text, and receipts drop faster than Wi-Fi. As questions shift their friendship in real time, they’re all left wondering if they’re strong enough to survive this glitch or if they’ll have to pay for everything they’ve done," the Hoorae Instagram account states.
Format and Availability
The 'minute soap' spans across 27 minute-long episodes and is currently available to stream for free on TikTok. They are also streaming on Netflix's new app Pine Drama, a standalone app from TikTok for streaming "microdramas" that is currently only available in the US and Brazil.
So far, the soap has been a viral hit, with episode one reaching almost eight million views on the @hooraemedia account. TikTok user JocWatchlist raved about the new series, and in the comments of her video, TikTok teased that Screen Time "is about to change the game."
Fan Reactions
Fans also flooded the comments, with one writing: "No ads, short, suspenseful, not AI ... I am hooked." Another wrote: "I love this because it's like Netflix with a comment section!!! How perfect."
The series was announced in April at TheWrap’s Creators x Hollywood Summit, in partnership with Whalar and The Lighthouse. At the panel, Issa said: "I’ve been really excited about the microdramas space for a while and as a company when I think about our survival and our relevance, I want people to feel like, Hoorae is a part of their daily routines and part of their lives, and this feels like an accessible point."
Industry Impact
In a statement, Dawn Yang, Global Head of Entertainment Partnerships at TikTok, told TheWrap: “TikTok is building a new model for micro-series, pairing creator-led storytelling with scaled distribution to reach audiences faster than ever. We’re actively investing in the micro-series space and excited to partner with innovators like Issa Rae to bring bold, story-driven content to life across TikTok and PineDrama.”
You can watch all 27 episodes of Screen Time on the Hoorae Media TikTok account.
