‘Wednesday’ and ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Producer Tommy Harper Says He Wants AI-Powered VeYou to “Become the HBO of Vertical,” as Soccer Microdrama ‘Rival Hearts’ Is Set

Tommy Harper, an executive producer on the first two seasons of Netflix’s “Wednesday,” said he is setting out to turn the fledgling microdrama platform VeYou into a major destination for short-form series, with an approach he describes as both data-driven and AI-powered. Harper, who is also associated with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” discussed the direction of VeYou in a July 2 interview with Deadline, calling vertical microdrama “a blank slate” and arguing the category remains “wide open.”

Harper said VeYou launched in April and that he wants the platform to grow into a scale analogue for premium television in the vertical format. “We want to become the HBO of vertical,” he said, framing his goal around building consistent high-end original storytelling that is engineered for consumption on mobile and other short-video formats rather than traditional broadcast or long-form streaming.

In the interview, Harper tied the platform’s expansion plan to the creative and distribution mechanics of the vertical space. He characterized vertical microdrama as a sector where established players have not yet defined a single dominant standard, leaving room for a new strategy. He also likened the opportunity to the early days of other media platforms, saying it is “Spotify” in that the format is still being shaped and scaled for audiences.

Harper’s comments come alongside announcements about additional programming on VeYou. Deadline reported that a new soccer microdrama titled “Rival Hearts” is set to launch, adding a sports-driven narrative lane to the platform’s lineup. The report positions “Rival Hearts” as part of the next wave of original microdramas intended to broaden the platform’s audience beyond any single genre.

VeYou’s emphasis on AI, as described in the interview, is aimed at accelerating how the platform identifies, packages, and delivers stories in the vertical format. Harper did not specify in the Deadline report how the AI would be used across production or post-production workflows, but he presented the capability as central to the platform’s ambition to compete for attention in the same way major premium networks compete for programming value in their own formats.

The interview also reflects how mainstream franchise producers are increasingly engaging with new distribution formats. Harper’s work on “Wednesday,” a property that has helped establish a global audience for youth-oriented supernatural storytelling, is cited by Deadline as part of his background as he looks to replicate that kind of cultural reach inside the microdrama model.

For audiences, the next steps are the rollout of VeYou’s planned titles, including “Rival Hearts,” and the continued development of the platform launched in April. For the industry, the Harper interview indicates that established creators and executive producers are now treating vertical serialized storytelling as an investable creative category, not just an experimental format.