RoseBerry’s Neighbours recut tests the meaning of ‘microdrama’
The vertical clips use an AI-powered workflow, but The Verge questions whether repackaged television belongs in a format built around original short-form series.
RoseBerry Media is recutting two Neighbours storylines featuring a character played by Margot Robbie into vertical clips for short-form streaming platform Epis. The storylines date from the late 2000s, when Robbie was part of the Australian soap’s cast.
RoseBerry co-founder and chief executive Guy Hameiri described the series as well suited to vertical viewing and said the company is using a proprietary, AI-powered production workflow. He said the project could introduce new audiences to the long-running show, which aired for 41 seasons from 1985 to 2025.
The Verge questions the description of the recut as a “microdrama”. The format is generally associated with original, low-budget series made for mobile screens, often using melodramatic plots and cliffhangers. Reformatting existing television raises a distinction between vertical video as a viewing format and microdrama as a type of production.
That distinction carries implications for an industry weighing the promise of short-form video against its effect on production work. The Verge reports that generative AI has reduced jobs and pay for human actors in China’s microdrama sector, and notes concerns about pressure on actors to grant rights to their digital likenesses in Hollywood.
The article also says it is unclear whether the Neighbours adaptation will generate royalties for the original cast and crew. Its central question is whether the microdrama label is expanding to cover repurposed television, or being used to market vertical clips.
