The new microdramas platform from Hollywood veterans Jana Winograde, Susan Rovner and Lloyd Braun has launched with an initial slate of projects spanning the horror, comedy and animation genres.
On Thursday aTwist debuted in the U.S. and in seven other countries with the ambition to blend Hollywood-level storytelling with the twisty, addictive tropes of the burgeoning verticals format. The platform launched with 10 original series, including titles from The Bold and the Beautiful executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell and Abominable Pictures founder and Childrens Hospital executive producer Jonathan Stern.
New series drop on Thursdays. Viewers can watch some episodes for free by viewing ads and can watch entire series by buying “coins” (a virtual currency) or buying an aTwist subscription.
While romance stories currently dominate top vertical platforms, aTwist is launching with a mix of genres. One of its inaugural titles, Cash Out, is unscripted: It follows a woman on the mend from a broken relationship who is given $50,000 to spend in Vegas with her two best friends. Two titles, Something Is Alive in My Attic and Strangers, A Plane and a Deadly Game, are horror stories. I Fell in Love With the Dragon Prince, a fantasy-romance combo, is animated.
There’s even a microdrama spoof series launching, from Abominable Pictures’ Stern, called My Billionaire Kidney. The logline? “A down-on-her-luck Cinderella-type becomes a pawn to her evil aunt and uncle and multiple absurdly powerful men as they fight for her kidney. Will she finally find a way to control the chaos and choose herself?”
Soap opera veteran Bell, meanwhile, is behind a series called Hollywood Starlet, about a cleaner and aspiring actor who finally gets her shot at stardom when she attracts the romantic attentions of a well-known actor.
The platform has been a while in the making. Winograde (the former president of Showtime), Rovner (previously the chairman of entertainment content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming) and Braun (former chairman of WME) announced their venture in 2025, back when the company was called MicroCo.
Since then, they’ve announced a creative partnership with Kevin Hart’s company Hartbeat, which will bring all of its microseries titles to aTwist. The platform has entered into a deal with BET to develop and distribute microdramas across linear and digital platforms and a pact with National CineMedia to advertise its series in movie theaters.
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