TikTok and Made By Us Studios have agreed to co-produce a slate of creator-led vertical micro-series, beginning with shows starring Hannah Stocking and Adam Rose. The companies announced the partnership on October 14 at MIPCOM Cannes, giving two established social creators lead roles in scripted, mobile-first productions intended for TikTok and the PineDrama app.
The first projects are Player, a romantic revenge thriller starring Stocking, and The Knock, a genre series starring Rose. TikTok has not yet disclosed release dates, episode counts, budgets or the full creative teams, so those details remain unconfirmed.
Featured image: Adam Rose in March 2010. Archival frame by RealTVfilms, cropped and adjusted by the Wikimedia uploader, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source and licence details. The photograph predates the announced series and does not depict production.
What TikTok and Made By Us announced
In its October 14 announcement, TikTok described the deal as a strategic partnership to develop and co-produce multiple premium vertical series. The productions are designed for portrait-format viewing and will be distributed through TikTok and PineDrama.
Player is described as a romantic revenge thriller with Stocking in the lead. The Knock, starring Rose, is described only as a genre series. The limited descriptions mean it would be premature to infer plots, supporting casts or launch windows beyond what the partners have formally stated.
Both performers arrive with large audiences and experience moving between social video and conventional acting. Stocking built her following through Vine, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok before appearing in film and television projects. Rose has worked as an actor since childhood and later developed a substantial short-form audience.
Why the deal matters for creator-led entertainment
The partnership treats creators as anchors for original scripted intellectual property, rather than asking them simply to promote a completed studio project. That distinction is central to Made By Us Studios’ business model.
Made By Us describes itself as a studio connecting Hollywood production with creator-owned, audience-led entertainment. Earlier in 2026, it also formed a partnership with Dentsu Entertainment to develop and distribute creator-led projects. Deadline reported on that agreement, which positioned creators as partners in developing new shows and formats rather than only as promotional talent.
The TikTok deal moves that model directly onto a major social platform. It also gives TikTok a supply of professionally produced scripted content designed around the way people already hold and scroll their phones.
Vertical series are becoming a distinct format
Vertical drama is no longer limited to isolated creator experiments. Studios and platforms are increasingly treating short, serialized portrait video as its own production category, with pacing, framing and cliffhangers designed for mobile viewing.
A 2026 Vanity Fair feature on the rise of vertical video highlighted Stocking’s work in the format and reported that she was developing a vertical series after starring in Playback. The publication described a broader shift in which creators use the retention lessons of TikTok and YouTube alongside traditional scripted storytelling.
TikTok cited its earlier series Screen Time, made with Issa Rae’s HOORAE, as evidence of demand. The company says the show has accumulated nearly 580 million views across TikTok and PineDrama since its April launch. That figure comes from TikTok and has not been independently audited in the announcement, so it should be read as a platform-reported total.
This trend also overlaps with the growing movement of online creators into longer-form entertainment. The Daily Vantage recently covered MatPat’s involvement in an Amanda the Adventurer film project and MoistCr1TiKaL’s role in a RuneScape animated series. The new TikTok slate differs because it is being designed from the start for vertical social distribution.
What is confirmed about Hannah Stocking’s Player
TikTok identifies Stocking as the star of Player and calls the project a romantic revenge thriller. Made By Us Studios is the co-production partner, and the series is intended for TikTok and PineDrama.
No synopsis beyond that description has been published. There is also no confirmed release date, episode duration, director, writer or supporting cast in the announcement. Although Stocking has discussed vertical storytelling publicly, viewers should not assume that earlier projects or comments reveal the plot of Player.
What is confirmed about Adam Rose’s The Knock
Rose will star in The Knock, which TikTok labels a genre series. The announcement does not specify whether that means horror, thriller, science fiction or another category.
Rose is known both for traditional screen acting and for short-form social videos. That combination fits the partnership’s aim: recognizable creators who understand feed-native performance but can also carry scripted characters.
The lack of further detail is notable. TikTok unveiled the titles as part of a slate announcement at an industry market, not as a complete launch campaign. More information will likely come later, but no schedule should be treated as confirmed until TikTok, Made By Us or the creators publish it.
What to watch next
The most important unanswered question is how the partners will structure distribution. TikTok says the shows will appear on TikTok and PineDrama, but it has not explained whether episodes will launch simultaneously, whether PineDrama will carry longer cuts, or whether access will vary by country.
Rights and revenue terms also remain private. The announcement emphasizes creator-led production, but it does not disclose ownership percentages, compensation or how advertising and other income will be shared.
For now, the confirmed development is straightforward: TikTok is expanding its scripted vertical-video strategy through a formal production partnership, and it has placed Hannah Stocking and Adam Rose at the center of the first two announced series. The significance will become clearer when the companies reveal release dates, episode formats and audience access.
Sources: TikTok Newsroom, Made By Us Studios, Deadline and Vanity Fair. Platform-supplied audience figures are identified as such.
