‘Eavesdropping’ Tests the Future of Scripted Social Video

The romantic comedy “Eavesdropping” has all the ingredients of a traditional TV series: recurring characters, serialized storylines and a will-they-or-won’t-they relationship at its center.

But you won’t find it on a streaming service or a TV network.

Created by Nicolas Alayo, Kaleigh Howland and Christian Sullivan, who also all act in the series, “Eavesdropping” unfolds primarily in episodes just a few minutes long across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Currently in its third season, the series has generated 282 million lifetime views across those platforms, demonstrating the potential for scripted entertainment created specifically for social-video feeds.

On the latest episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast, the trio explain how the series emerged from an effort to combine traditional storytelling with lessons Alayo learned working in social-media marketing. Rather than pursuing a conventional Hollywood development process, they intentionally created something inexpensive and nimble enough to produce themselves.

“We wanted to be where the people were,” Alayo said. “We didn’t want to wait for permission.”

Listen to the full podcast:

That philosophy extends to the storytelling itself, which exhibit far more creative flair than what microdrama apps produce under similar time restrictions. Episodes are constructed to hook viewers quickly while giving them enough information to form opinions about the characters — there’s an active following on Discord where fans share plenty of comments, theories and debates.

The creators also discuss the unusual economics of building a scripted series on free social platforms. “Eavesdropping” has expanded into Patreon, where 15% of its 9,000 subscribers pay for early access to content. They also have brand-integration deals and hold live screenings (the next one will be held at the Kult L.A. on Nov. 13), while the creators are exploring licensing opportunities and the possibility of adapting the property into a more traditional format.

Yet they see the accessibility of social video itself as one of the format’s greatest advantages, particularly as Hollywood becomes harder for young creators to break into.

“The barrier for entry is close to zero for posting to social,” Howland said, predicting that more creators will use the medium to establish their own voices and audiences.

“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.

(Pictured above, l. to r.: “Eavesdropping” creators and stars Christian Sullivan, Kaleigh Howland and Nicolas Alayo)