Indie banner Blink49 Studios is getting into the microdramas business.
With Canada already a major production hub for the bite-sized dramas, the indie studio has hired Tieren Hawkins as vp of vertical content, with an eye to making mobile-first soapy series across the country.
“Tieren brings a rare combination of creative instinct and executional expertise in a format that is evolving at an incredible pace. As vertical storytelling continues to redefine how audiences engage with content, his leadership positions us to build a meaningful presence in this space from Canada outward,” Tara Long, global president, unscripted television at Blink49, said in a statement.
Hawkins has been producing microdramas for leading global platforms like ReelShort, Dramawave, and ShortMax on Canada’s East coast. His credits include Forbidden Bonds, which premiered to over 150 million views, Love in the Ashes of Us, Thanksgiving with Mom & Dad and Taming the Cold CEO.
In his new role at Blink49, Hawkins will develop an original slate of ultrashort dramas, using the indie studio’s ties to brand marketers, online platforms and emerging microdrama apps. He will also produce the vertical dramas in key production hubs across Canada where local talent and generous film tax credits is available.
Blink49 is following Hollywood studios and streamers in embracing the niche genre that launched in China in 2018 and flourished during the COVID pandemic. “Microdramas are experiencing significant global momentum, and over the past few years I’ve been focused on understanding what makes the format work at scale. I’m excited to bring that experience into a studio with Blink49’s creative reach, relationships, and infrastructure, and to continue working with partners across the industry to help establish Canada as a leading hub for vertical production,” Hawkins added in his own statement.
The focus on series dramas aimed at mobile phone audiences follows Hawkins and his Halifax-based Sleeping Bear Productions banner also producing the feature horror film Stitches and the comedy King & Pawn over three seasons.
The push into microdramas coincides with Blink49, which has Fifth Season and Bell Media as strategic investors, in content creation launching a brand studio and making digital mobile-first series alongside production of scripted and unscripted fare for traditional TV platforms and buyers. Blink49 produces content for world export on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, with a headquarters in Toronto and additional offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver and New York.
