{"id":389291,"date":"2026-03-17T08:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/389291\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T08:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:19:10","slug":"supermodelme-becomes-first-reality-franchise-to-go-vertical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/389291\/","title":{"rendered":"‘SupermodelMe’ Becomes First Reality Franchise to Go Vertical"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tRefinery Media and COL Group Intl. have struck a deal to reimagine hit modelling competition franchise \u201cSupermodelMe<\/a>\u201d as one of the world\u2019s first reality microdrama series.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new series, titled \u201cSupermodelMe: Make It or Break It,\u201d will premiere on COL\u2019s global mobile platform FlareFlow<\/a> in mid-year, with the announcement made at Hong Kong FilMart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe move marks a milestone for the unscripted television industry: for the first time, an established reality IP is being fully retooled for mobile-native, vertical-format episodic storytelling at this scale. Created and owned by Refinery Media, \u201cSupermodelMe\u201d ran for six seasons, including an international run on Netflix, and built a following that positioned it as one of the most recognizable modelling competition brands to emerge from Asia.<\/p>\n

\n\tThai-American television personality Cindy Bishop, who hosted previous seasons of the franchise, will return as host of the new series, joined by returning judge Ase Wang and co-judge Patricia Gouw. \u201c\u2018SupermodelMe\u2019 has always been about finding raw talent and giving them a real shot,\u201d Bishop told Variety. \u201cGoing vertical doesn\u2019t change that, it just puts us where more people are actually watching shows now: their mobiles. I\u2019m excited to be back, and I\u2019m excited about being part of something so groundbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018SupermodelMe\u2019 is proof that regionally rooted content can carry universal appeal, and this is the first time a franchise of this caliber has made the move to the vertical format on any major global microdrama platform,\u201d added Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group. \u201cI am excited that FlareFlow is leading that charge. By leveraging COL\u2019s depth of experience in the vertical space and FlareFlow\u2019s global reach, we are creating the right environment for \u2018SupermodelMe\u2019s\u2019 legacy to continue evolving and to introduce the IP to more global, younger, mobile-first audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKaren Seah, founder and CEO of Refinery Media, said: \u201c\u2018SupermodelMe\u2019 has always embraced reinvention. From its early beginnings as an online-only series, evolving into traditional long-form television, and now reimagined for vertical storytelling, each chapter has brought the franchise closer to its audience. This partnership allows us to demonstrate how unscripted formats can successfully adapt to vertical storytelling, opening the door for a new wave of micro entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond the flagship title, the deal also encompasses three additional Singapore-produced vertical series from Refinery Media: \u201cNo-Volley Zone,\u201d \u201cMy Best Friend, My Brother, My Rival\u201d and \u201cThe Housemaid Wife\u201d which are all set to premiere on FlareFlow, with further titles to be unveiled later in the year. The series is also expected to serve as a platform for emerging talent, with standout cast members potentially folded into future microdrama projects across Refinery Media\u2019s growing vertical slate.<\/p>\n

\n\tFlareFlow, COL\u2019s flagship global distribution platform, claimed the top spot on U.S. entertainment app charts last September and has since grown to 33 million registered users across more than 200 countries and regions, with support for 14 languages and approximately 5,200 series released to date. The platform\u2019s top-performing drama has logged more than 193 million views and generated over $15 million in in-app revenue.<\/p>\n

\n\tCOL Group, a publicly listed Chinese media and entertainment company, pioneered the microdrama format in China before expanding internationally through its incubation of ReelShort in the U.S. and the subsequent launch of FlareFlow. Singapore-headquartered Refinery Media\u2019s credits include \u201cAsia\u2019s Next Top Model\u201d and \u201cThe Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition,\u201d among other productions recognized at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. The company\u2019s current slate also includes \u201cMan of the Hour,\u201d an unscripted series on horology, and its first co-produced feature film \u201cMothernet,\u201d set to premiere on Netflix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Refinery Media and COL Group Intl. have struck a deal to reimagine hit modelling competition franchise \u201cSupermodelMe\u201d as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[18,117,31392,177673,19,17,114982,177796,128],"class_list":["post-389291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-flareflow","tag-hong-kong-filmart","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-microdramas","tag-supermodelme","tag-tv"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116243540596294900","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}