Hongguo is booming. What does that mean for Douyin?

On Nov. 10, Douyin Group Vice President Li Liang cautioned creators against rushing into AI short dramas, citing Hongguo hit Armed Into the Song Dynasty as an example of the experience and resources needed to produce a hit. Since its August debut, the series has expanded to about 1,000 episodes across 10 seasons, with cumulative views surpassing 12 billion by Nov. 7, according to The Paper.

The comments come as Hongguo reaches a new milestone. The short-drama app had 430 million users in September, overtaking ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao to become its second-largest app after Douyin, according to QuestMobile.

Hongguo’s rapid growth may suggest that ByteDance is finding another way to capture viewers’ entertainment time. But what is drawing audiences to short dramas, and what does their rise mean for Douyin?

A recent 36Kr commentary draws a parallel with Douyin’s early success: short videos gained ground as traditional TV comedy struggled to find fresh material and talent. Now, short dramas are competing for the same limited viewing time, but offer a different kind of entertainment.

While short videos deliver quick bursts of information and amusement, short dramas offer serialized stories, recurring characters and cliffhangers that keep viewers coming back.

In other words, they are less about saving time than filling it. And ByteDance appears to be catering to both needs through separate platforms, with Douyin focused on short videos and Hongguo on episodic entertainment.

Accessibility is another draw. Hongguo’s free, ad-supported model lets viewers watch without paying for individual episodes. The model is gaining traction as formulaic storylines weaken viewers’ willingness to pay and rising marketing costs pressure platforms to rethink monetization, as Caixin has reported.

The growing demand is also reshaping production. AI tools are cutting the time and cost of making short dramas, particularly animated ones, and lowering barriers for smaller teams. More than 90% of the roughly 430,000 short dramas released in China in the first eight months of 2026 used AI technologies, according to China’s State Council Information Office.

But production costs are only part of the story. The 36Kr commentary also argues that tighter content moderation on Douyin may have helped Hongguo grow, as some creators and entertainment content found less room on the larger platform.

As Hongguo grows, it may face a similar challenge: adapting to tighter content moderation without losing the storytelling that keeps viewers hooked. For ByteDance, retaining audiences as the short-drama market matures and tastes evolve may prove just as important as expanding the platform.