Vertical dramas are all the rage!
If you've already binged some of your favorite queer shows such as Heated Rivalry, Queer as Folk, and Fellow Travelers, then vertical dramas might be the next genre to sink your teeth into.
Vertical dramas, also known as micro-dramas, are mobile-first, serialized shows designed for smartphone viewing and streamed on subscription-based apps. The bite-sized episodes (often only 1 or 2 minutes long) encourage binge-watching and usually add up to a movie-length runtime over the course of 50 to 90 episodes.
ReelShort produces a slew of sweet and spicy gay shows, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the network would cast Nico Tortorella and Jake Lively in their provocative new Salt Kiss trilogy. Based on Sierra Simone's bestselling novels, Salt Kiss, Honey Cut, and Bitter Burn follow billionaire Mark Trevena (Nico Totorella) and his bodyguard Tristan (Jake Lively) as seduction, jealousy and betrayal pull them into a dangerous love triangle.
During the casting process, Tortorella and Lively immediately clicked during their chemistry read, which was essential for the duo to properly depict their intense BDSM and kinky scenes.
"It's nice to be able to stretch my legs a little bit as an actor and do things I haven't done on or off camera before. As much as I explored the character of Tristan, I get to play different parts of myself. Hollywood loves to minimize the actual relationship part of the dom-sub relationship. This is how these two learn to express their love for each other. I got manhandled in the harness," Lively tells Out.
"We open in the hottest, largest, BDSM kink club. The series is about Mark and Tristan's dom-sub relationship and how that works. The vertical world moves fast. You're never bored! It's not just about the sex. Consent is a big piece of these conversations," Tortorella adds.
Beyond the steamy moments in Salt Kiss, the characters evolve in the preceding storylines in Honey Cut and Bitter Burn. A love triangle infiltrates Mark and Tristan's dom-sub romance, which complicates their love affair even more.
"If you like something hot and steamy, it's there. If you like something heartfelt and romantic, it's there. It was more than anything I could have asked for. We got to talk about the dynamics of being in a throuple and I don't think that's ever been explored in a vertical drama," Lively says.
"I've been in a few love triangles over the years, let's be honest! It's a place I'm really comfortable. To be able to explore it in this dynamic was nice and refreshing, honestly. There's so much in this world that it's impossible to let your guard down. This is a rich universe," Tortorella adds.
Bitter Burn will debut this Thursday on ReelShort. Binge Salt Kiss and Honey Cut on their official websites.
