There's a moment when an emerging format stops being a novelty and starts being an industry. For Chinese vertical drama, that moment may be 2026.

For once in the vertical world, the signal isn't a viewership number or a revenue figure, but a casting announcement.

At the 13th China Online Audiovisual Conference held in Chengdu on April 16, ByteDance's short drama platform Hongguo unveiled the third slate of its Guoran Plan: a 500 million RMB investment programme backing premium live-action short drama production. In that slate: Jet Li, cast in two productions, 源力江湖 (Yuan Li Jiang Hu) and 剑归 (Sword's Return). Also joining: Tang Guoqiang, one of China's most decorated dramatic actors, and Ma Weidu, the country's most prominent antiques expert and cultural commentator, serving as cultural director on a heritage-themed drama called 掌眼 (Eyes of Treasures).

These are people with enough industry standing to be selective, and they chose vertical drama.

Jet Li was explicit about why. He said his participation was about fulfilling a long-held ambition to bring Chinese martial arts to a new generation of audiences, and that he was happy to take a supporting role to help younger talent with martial arts backgrounds find their footing in the format. Tang Guoqiang, cast as a patriotic entrepreneur in the spy thriller 无名者之光 (Unknown Heroes), plays opposite young lead actor Liu Xiaosu. The pattern across the slate is deliberate: established names in supporting roles, new talent carrying the productions.

The slate itself is also worth reading as an industry signal. Alongside the celebrity casting, Hongguo is adapting two of China's most beloved long-form drama IPs into vertical format: 闯关东 (Pioneers), a landmark historical series about Chinese migration to Manchuria, and 伪装者 (The Disguisers), a critically acclaimed spy drama. Adapting IP of this cultural weight into short form would have been unthinkable three years ago. It reflects both the format's growing legitimacy and the platform's confidence in its audience.

For international buyers, this is worth paying attention to for a practical reason. The content coming out of China's premium vertical drama slate in 2026 will carry names, IP and production values that make it significantly easier to position to audiences outside China. The era of vertical drama as a format for unknown faces and throwaway plots is ending at the top end of the market. What's replacing it is recognisable talent, established stories, and real production budgets.

The format has arrived. The question now is which international platforms are going to move fast enough to be there when it does.

If you want to understand what's available for licensing from this new wave of Chinese vertical drama production, get in touch.