First‑Ever British Vertical Series Takes the Spotlight

Onset Octopus says it is the first UK company to fully fund and produce a vertical‑video series that will be sold worldwide. The new show, Cowboy Before Dark, follows a same‑sex romance between two friends who reconnect. Writer Octavia McKenzie crafted the story, while actors Elliot Eason and Adam Santa Cruz bring it to life. Ben Pengilly, the studio’s founder, handled production from start to finish and plans to give the director a share of sales, similar to independent film deals. Pengilly claims the studio has pioneered many firsts: shooting in Britain and abroad, creating interactive microdramas, producing LGBTQ‑focused content, and now offering a fully self‑financed series with product placement. McKenzie said she loves writing short vertical dramas that celebrate all kinds of love, and feels proud to help push the UK’s new medium forward.

The microdrama market in Britain is still small, but Onset Octopus appears to be the most active producer. A local app called Tattle TV has just launched, yet viewers mainly use Chinese and U. S. services such as Reelshort, Flareflow, and Dramabox. In December the studio joined the Micro‑Series Certified Alliance, a group that promotes quality and ethical standards in vertical storytelling. This effort comes as the genre often features melodramatic plots, romance clichés, and harmful stereotypes. Onset Octopus is also collaborating with Tattle TV on future series for the app. The studio writes its own scripts, employs in‑house writers, and adapts content into Mandarin, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

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