• by Colin Kirkland , September 23, 2026

During its Made On YouTube event on Wednesday, the Google-owned social video-sharing company announced a new tool designed to promote more creator-made episodic content, aligning with similar launches from competing platforms like TikTok.

YouTube’s “Shorts series” feature allows creators to structure their Shorts into seasons and episodes across web, mobile, and TV inviting viewers to follow a continuous storyline through a series of connected short-form videos. 

The feature builds on the company’s shuttered YouTube Originals premium offering, as well as Creator Shows, an initiative launched last year that allows  creators to organize their long- and short-form video content into episodes and seasons.

With Shorts series, creators in the YouTube Partner Program can utilize custom thumbnails and sequential playback functionality.

According to YouTube’s announcement, microdramas have surpassed 6.5 billion views over the first half of 2026, with watch time increasing by over 50% year-over-year. 

Notably, YouTube is focused on expanding microdramas beyond mobile, as views of microdrama content on TV has grown by over 90% year-over-year.

The move follows Meta’s recent “Series” feature launch, as well as various microdrama investments made by TikTok, which in 2025 generated $1.3 billion in the U.S. alone via direct payments from viewers of paywalled episodic content on the platform.

TikTok -- the original inspiration for YouTube’s Shorts format -- launched its own “Series” feature in 2023, then, last year, launched a dedicated Minis Center and stand-alone mini dramas app in the U.S. and Brazil called “Pine Drama.”

For brands, the rise in popularity around social media microdramas may give advertisers the chance to produce their own episodic brand-story content alongside a creator’s short-form series.