How a Kyiv Studio Bet on the Vertical Drama
TV wasn’t where Holywater started out. The studio was launched in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 by Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov, and its lineup even now reads more like a mobile entertainment laboratory than a streaming platform. My Drama shares the portfolio with My Passion for books, My Muse for AI and FreeBits. It matters that the https://shortsreels.org/series/three-strikes-dad-s-out/ portfolio is so spread out, because it shows a company that sees video as one of several consumer products rather than its entire identity. In the end, it put its wager on the vertical drama, a format born in China as duanju and framed 9:16 for an upright phone. Moving into this market was daring for a small Ukrainian company, because the genre’s largest players were backed by Chinese and Singaporean groups.
Spring 2024: The My Drama App Arrives
The precise date of the My Drama app depends on which source you trust, but the app went live in spring 2024. The launch timing differs by source: TechCrunch put it in April, Google Play lists March 13, 2024, and the App Store lists May 9, 2024. Those store dates indicate that Android was first, with the iPhone version following about two months later. The first slate leaned hard on the genre’s best-loved tropes. The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast and Love Captive to a Mafia Boss were among the first titles, and their names reveal most of what you need to know about the mood. What ultimately made the company stand out was not the stories themselves but the collaborator it would soon be producing them with.
The Fox Deal, a $22M Round and a Webby
October 2025 was the month My Drama stopped being a startup curiosity. In a deal that came with a commitment to make more than 200 vertical titles over two years, Fox Entertainment took an equity stake in Holywater. The platform hosts Fox-produced titles such as Billionaire Blackmail, Bound by Obsession and My Heart’s Offside. Then, in January 2026, three months later, Holywater pulled in $22M in a round led by Horizon Capital. The company additionally has a 2025 Webby Award for Best Streaming Service, a distinction it features on its App Store listing. Few rivals can claim what those milestones hand My Drama, namely a big American studio serving as both shareholder and producer.
My Drama at a Glance
The condensed version of the story is in the table below, for anyone who only has a minute. The ownership, legal, platform and pricing details that matter most to a first-time viewer are pulled together there. Prices are the ones listed in the US App Store as of September 2026. Treat them as a rough guide rather than a firm quote, since they differ by country, platform and promotion. Which legal entity you contract with is determined by where you live, a point that is relevant if you ever need to dispute a charge. The app shows 5M+ downloads on Google Play, which is what the install figure refers to.
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Owner | Holywater, set up in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 |
| Founders | Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov |
| Companion apps | My Passion (books), My Muse (AI), FreeBits |
| Contract party, US users | XOLY LIMITED (Delaware) |
| Contract party, other users | Holy Water Limited (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
| Launch date | Spring 2024 (Google Play: March 13; App Store: May 9) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV (tvOS 18+), Vision Pro and web |
| Android installs | 5M+ on Google Play |
| Full-access plan | About $19.99 per week, with automatic renewal |
| Coin packs | Around $4.99 to $24.99 |
| Premium options | Roughly $4.99 to $9.99 |
| Studio backer | Fox Entertainment, equity stake since October 2025, 200+ titles over two years |
| Funding | $22M raised in January 2026, led by Horizon Capital |
| Recognition | Webby Award for Best Streaming Service, 2025 |
What It Feels Like to Watch My Drama
The entire category is built on the same basic experience, and My Drama follows it. Episodes are vertical and sized for a phone held upright; in this genre they typically last one or two minutes, and then a cliffhanger propels you toward the next one. Since series often run anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, a single story can silently swallow an evening in short bites. This drama app really sets itself apart in the range of screens it supports. As well as iPhone, iPad and Android, the app is listed for Apple TV on tvOS 18 or later and for Vision Pro. By comparison, ReelShort’s App Store listing shows no Apple TV version at all, so this big-screen option is less common than you might expect. Although a 9:16 frame will never fill a widescreen TV, the option transforms a solitary phone habit into something a couple can watch together.
Holywater’s own early productions and the growing Fox slate make up the library, blending the two. The genre’s well-worn formula remains the template for the Fox releases, as titles like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession make plain. Here, the candid caveat is scale. The app displays 5M+ installs on Google Play, a fraction of the 100M+ that ReelShort, DramaBox and ShortMax each list. This gap puts My Drama in 2026 as a well-financed challenger rather than the category leader.
Pricing: How Much My Drama Costs in 2026
Holywater sells access in three ways, and the headline figure is the weekly pass. Roughly $19.99 a week is what “My Drama: Full Access” costs in the US App Store as of September 2026. That puts it in line with the weekly passes from ReelShort, ShortMax, DramaWave and GoodShort, each listed at about the same price in the same store. At roughly $4.99 to $24.99, coin packs unlock individual episodes. Lighter viewers have cheaper entry points than the full pass, because a separate Premium tier is listed at roughly $4.99 to $9.99. Like its rivals’ plans, the weekly subscription auto-renews until you cancel it. As prices change by country, platform and promotion, the figure on your own screen may be different. Do the math before you commit, because four renewals of a $19.99 weekly pass add up to roughly $80 a month.
The Terms to Understand Before You Pay
Most viewers give less attention than they should to the fine print in My Drama’s terms of use. Every coin purchases are final, which means no easy refund if a series disappoints after you unlock it. After 12 months of inactivity, coins are also forfeited, so a balance you ignore for a year can simply disappear. In the EU and UK, there is a 14-day right of withdrawal, mirroring the consumer rules in those markets. Purchases on the web are described as non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. The terms say clearly, most importantly, that deleting the app does not cancel your subscription. On an iPhone you cancel under Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions, while Android users use the Subscriptions menu in Google Play. Holywater does not process refunds for store purchases; Apple or Google handles them.
It also pays to know exactly who stands on the other side of the contract. Everyone outside the US contracts with Holy Water Limited in Nicosia, Cyprus, while US users deal with XOLY LIMITED, a Delaware company. One more warning applies here as much as to any vertical drama app. Modded APKs, unlimited coins and free coin generators come from unofficial sites, and such sites are not a safe way to watch anything. If the price feels too high, the proper move is to cancel the pass, not to hunt for a hack.
Verdict: The Challenger With Hollywood in Its Corner
Measured by install counts, My Drama is not the largest vertical drama app, and it is not close. What it offers instead is an unusual combination: a Kyiv founding story, a Fox equity partner signed up for more than 200 titles, fresh funding from January 2026 and a Webby on the shelf. The practical upside for viewers is Apple TV support, a feature ReelShort, for one, does not list. The downside remains the same one that dogs every rival: a weekly pass of roughly $19.99 that quietly renews in the background. The My Drama app earns a place on your home screen if you want Fox-produced romance and the option to watch on a television. ShortMax, with its 50,000+ dramas, is the more obvious choice if you simply want the largest claimed library. Either way, cancel through your store account rather than trusting the delete button, and set a reminder the day you subscribe.
