Channel 4 has commissioned its first vertical drama series, and it comes with a brand built into the storyline. The Guest List, a five-part micro drama made in partnership with fragrance brand Sol de Janeiro, premieres on Channel 4’s Meta, TikTok and YouTube channels from 24 October.
Produced by curly media, the series follows four women in their twenties navigating life in London: career dilemmas, new crushes and the ritual of getting ready for a night out. Viewers follow the story through the friends’ group chat, a device that fits a format designed to be watched upright, on a phone, in the same feed as everything else.
Four characters, four scents
The brand integration goes further than product placement. Each character is inspired by a scent from Sol de Janeiro’s new Intense Mist range:
- Aisha, a photographer, played by Deba Hekmat (Last Swim) — Cheirosa 91
- Amaka, a PR professional, played by Jadesola Odunjo (Netflix’s You) — Cheirosa 62
- Mika, a fashion assistant, played by Mia Ito Smith — Cheirosa 74
- Bella, a finance intern, played by Felicity Ali in her first drama role — Cheirosa 59
The series was commissioned for Channel 4 by Ameenah Taher, digital commissioning executive. Emma Walker is executive producer at curly media, with Jade Greene as series producer. Media agency Zenith UK brokered the partnership.
What the partners are saying
Sam Hicks, head of advertiser strategy at Channel 4, called the project “a brilliant example” of what brand and broadcaster collaboration can look like.
For Sol de Janeiro, the series is a chance to “challenge what beauty content can be,” according to Rebecca Pollard, the brand’s director of marketing and consumer engagement for UK & Ireland.
Sannah Rogers, CEO of Zenith UK, said the partnership started with “a shared ambition to create something people genuinely want to spend time with.” Curly media’s Emma Walker described it as “a first of its kind micro-drama.”
Why vertical, and why now
Vertical dramas — also called micro dramas — are short, serialised stories shot and formatted for portrait viewing on mobile. The format grew out of the habits that TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat trained into audiences: quick, episodic, thumb-friendly, and made for the phone first rather than cut down from a longer piece.
That matters for broadcasters chasing younger viewers who no longer start their entertainment on a TV set. It also matters for brands. Production costs are a fraction of traditional TV, stories travel easily across markets, and the format sits naturally where audiences already comment, share and binge in short bursts.
The Guest List puts a UK public service broadcaster’s name on a format that has largely been driven by dedicated apps and social-native creators. For Channel 4, it’s a way to show advertisers it can build entertainment for the feed, not just the schedule. For Sol de Janeiro, it turns a product range into characters people might actually follow.
The real test comes after 24 October: whether viewers treat it as a show worth watching, or scroll past it as an ad.
