Kelsey Maskell, Leading Female Star – Vertical Films
Daniel Cotroneo, Flashback Pictures
Being part of The Tonight Show’s first microdrama felt like a real milestone—not just for me, but for the entire vertical entertainment space”— Kasey Esser, Leading Male Star, Microdrama
As vertical entertainment steadily transforms from an up‑and‑coming format into a fully mainstream entertainment business, The Vertical Buzz is growing in step with that shift.
Initially launched as a weekly discussion centered on the individuals constructing the vertical entertainment industry, The Vertical Buzz has quickly outgrown its original studio setting. The media platform’s widening presence now includes red‑carpet coverage, official festival media partnerships, panel moderation, live event appearances, and conversations with an increasingly varied roster of creators, executives, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who are shaping the future of vertical storytelling.
For host and creator Buzz Leer, this expansion mirrors a larger movement happening throughout the industry.
“When we launched The Vertical Buzz, the goal was to give this emerging industry a place to have a conversation,” said Leer. “What I’m seeing now is that the conversation is getting bigger — and so is our role in it. We’re being invited beyond the studio, onto red carpets, into festivals, onto panels and into rooms where the future of vertical entertainment is being discussed. That’s exactly where I want The Vertical Buzz to be.”
That broadening footprint arrives as vertical storytelling itself enters a new chapter. What began largely as mobile‑first serialized entertainment is now drawing increasing interest from established Hollywood executives, television networks and streaming platforms, technology companies, major brands, filmmakers, and other sectors exploring how audiences are consuming entertainment on their phones.
The Vertical Buzz is steadily positioned at the crossroads of those worlds.
The platform’s deepening industry involvement includes red‑carpet and live‑event coverage in Los Angeles and its recent role as an Official Media Partner of VertiCon, now in its second year. That footprint will continue to expand this fall as The Vertical Buzz serves as an Official Media Partner of the ALZA Festival, the inaugural New York City festival dedicated to microdrama and vertical storytelling, taking place October 16–18, 2026, as well as an Official International Media Partner of MicroDramaFest 2027 in Agra, India.
That growth is also evident in the variety of voices featured on The Vertical Buzz during its third season.
The show’s September lineup includes Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment, discussing the changing entertainment landscape and why he believes vertical viewing will play an increasingly significant role in its future.
Also appearing is Kasey Esser, one of the leading actors in the microdrama space and a star of Who Billionaire? Me Billionaire, the first microdrama produced by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The NBC vertical comedy features Esser alongside Jimmy Fallon and John Stamos and represents another significant example of traditional television embracing the vertical format. “Being part of The Tonight Show’s first microdrama felt like a real milestone—not just for me, but for the entire vertical entertainment space. To see a franchise as iconic as The Tonight Show embrace the format shows how quickly vertical storytelling is moving into the mainstream.”
The Vertical Buzz will also welcome Nate Thomas, President of World One, an emerging sports venture introducing a new genre of competition: micro‑sports — instant, high‑impact, head‑to‑head action designed for a mobile‑first, vertical audience.
Together, the conversations reflect the widening scope of vertical entertainment — from the creators and actors who helped build the format, to legacy entertainment leaders, major television franchises and entirely new forms of content being created for the vertical screen.
Leer says the mission remains the same even as the platform grows.
“I don’t want The Vertical Buzz simply watching this industry from the sidelines. I want us in the room, asking the questions, introducing the people and helping tell the story of where vertical entertainment is going next.”
Robb Leer
Leer Communication & Consultants
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