A Kyiv Studio Gambles on the Vertical Drama
The company called Holywater did not start life as a television business. It was in 2020 that Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov established the studio in Kyiv, Ukraine, and its lineup still looks more like a mobile entertainment laboratory than a streaming network. My Drama sits next to My Passion for books, My Muse for AI and FreeBits. That breadth is telling: it reveals a company reel shorts for which video is one consumer product among several, not its entire identity. In the end, it put its bet on the vertical drama, a format that began in China as duanju and is framed 9:16 for an upright phone. The sector’s largest players were supported by Chinese and Singaporean groups, so breaking into this market was a daring step for a small Ukrainian firm.
Spring 2024: The My Drama App Arrives
In spring 2024, the My Drama app launched, although the precise date varies with which source you believe. According to TechCrunch, the launch happened in April, while Google Play lists March 13, 2024, and the App Store shows May 9, 2024. Based on the gap between those store dates, Android likely came first and the iPhone version arrived about two months later. The opening slate relied heavily on the genre’s most popular tropes. Most of what you need to know about the mood comes through in initial titles such as The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast and Love Captive to a Mafia Boss. The studio was ultimately set apart not by the stories themselves but by the partner it would soon be producing them with.
The Fox Deal, a $22M Round and a Webby
October 2025 was the month My Drama ceased to be a startup curiosity. Fox Entertainment acquired an equity stake in Holywater, and the agreement came with a pledge to make more than 200 vertical titles over two years. Among the Fox-produced titles on the platform are Billionaire Blackmail, Bound by Obsession and My Heart’s Offside. A $22M funding round led by Horizon Capital came three months later, in January 2026, when Holywater raised the money. The company also holds a 2025 Webby Award for Best Streaming Service, a distinction it displays on its App Store listing. Combined, those milestones hand My Drama something few rivals can match, namely a major American studio serving as both shareholder and producer.
My Drama Fact File
For readers who only have a moment, the table below gives the quick version of the story. It collects in one place the ownership, legal, platform and pricing details that matter most to a new viewer. The prices come from the US App Store as of September 2026. Since they differ by country, platform and promotion, read them as a guide rather than a quote. Where you live decides the legal entity you contract with, a detail that becomes relevant if you ever need to challenge a charge. The install number refers to Google Play, where the app displays 5M+ downloads.
| Topic | Specifics |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Holywater (established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020) |
| Co-founders | Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov |
| Sister apps | My Passion (books), My Muse (AI), FreeBits |
| Contract party, US users | XOLY LIMITED (Delaware) |
| Legal entity for other users | Holy Water Limited (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
| Release | Spring 2024 (Google Play: March 13; App Store: May 9) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV (tvOS 18+), Vision Pro and web |
| Android downloads | 5M+ on Google Play |
| Full access pass | Roughly $19.99 per week, with automatic renewal |
| Coin packages | Around $4.99 to $24.99 |
| Premium options | About $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 |
| Awards | 2025 Webby Award, Best Streaming Service |
The My Drama Viewing Experience
At its heart, the experience is the one the whole category rests on. Episodes are vertical and formatted for a phone held upright; in this genre they usually run a minute or two, and then a cliffhanger propels you toward the next one. Series often run anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, so a single story can quietly eat up an evening in small bites. This drama app really distinguishes itself through the range of screens it supports. Besides iPhone, iPad and Android, it is listed for Apple TV on tvOS 18 or later and for Vision Pro. For comparison, ReelShort’s App Store listing shows no Apple TV version at all, so this big-screen option is less common than you might think. Of course, a 9:16 frame will never fill a widescreen TV, yet the option converts a solo phone habit into something a couple can watch together.
Holywater’s own early productions and the growing Fox slate make up the catalog, blending the two. The Fox releases hew close to the genre’s established formula, as titles like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession make plain. Scale is the fair caveat here. ReelShort, DramaBox and ShortMax each list 100M+ installs on Google Play, while the app shows 5M+, a small fraction of that. In 2026, that gap makes clear that My Drama is a well-financed challenger rather than the category leader.
Pricing: How Much My Drama Costs in 2026
Holywater sells access three ways, and the main figure is the weekly pass. “My Drama: Full Access” runs about $19.99 per week in the US App Store as of September 2026. ReelShort, ShortMax, DramaWave and GoodShort list their weekly passes at about the same price in the same store, so the app sits level with them. For unlocking individual episodes, there are coin packs running from around $4.99 to $24.99. There is also a separate Premium tier at roughly $4.99 to $9.99, which gives lighter viewers lower-cost entry points than the full pass. Since prices change by country, platform and promotion, the figure on your own screen may differ. The weekly subscription auto-renews until you cancel it, like its rivals’ plans. Do the math before you commit, because four renewals of a $19.99 weekly pass add up to around $80 a month.
Terms to Know Before You Pay
The fine print in My Drama’s terms of use deserves more attention than most viewers give it. There is no easy refund if a series lets you down after you unlock it, as coin purchases are final. In addition, coins are forfeited after 12 months of inactivity, so a balance you ignore for a year can simply disappear. Purchases on the web are described as non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. Viewers in the EU and UK have a 14-day right of withdrawal, reflecting the consumer rules in those markets. The crucial point of all: the terms state plainly that deleting the app does not cancel your subscription. To cancel on an iPhone, head to Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions; on Android, use the Subscriptions menu in Google Play. Holywater does not process refunds for store purchases; Apple or Google handles them.
It is also useful to know exactly who sits on the other side of the contract. US users sign with XOLY LIMITED, a Delaware company, while everyone else contracts with Holy Water Limited in Nicosia, Cyprus. One more warning applies here as much as to any vertical drama app. Sites that promise modded APKs, unlimited coins or free coin generators are unofficial and are not a safe way to watch anything. When the price feels steep, the right step is cancelling the pass; do not go hunting for a hack.
Verdict: The Challenger With Hollywood on Its Side
My Drama is not the biggest vertical drama app, and on install counts it is not close. Rather, it offers an unlikely combination: a Kyiv founding story, a Fox equity partner committed to more than 200 titles, fresh funding from January 2026 and a Webby on the shelf. Viewers get a practical upside in Apple TV support, which ReelShort, for one, does not list. As with every rival, the downside is a weekly pass of around $19.99 that renews quietly in the background. If the largest claimed library is all you want, ShortMax, with its 50,000+ dramas, is the more obvious pick. If you want Fox-produced romance and the option to watch on a television, the My Drama app earns a place on your home screen. Either way, do not trust the delete button: set a reminder the day you subscribe and cancel through your store account.
