Taye Diggs predicts the future of scripted storytelling is in the palm of your hand.
The actor and producer co-founded Microhouse Films, a new digital platform designed to help filmmakers produce, distribute and monetize mobile-first content.
“I’ve never been part of something like this where we can take from creators, help them create, and then give back, give them back what they deserve,” Diggs recently told Urban Hollywood 411 on the red carpet. “It’s a really nice situation. Very unheard of in Hollywood.”
Microhouse officially launched July 7 with seven titles, including the vertical drama series Tides of Temptation. The series stars Mea Wilkerson and Q Stenline, aka SwagBoyQ, an actor, singer-songwriter, and digital content creator with millions of followers on social media.
We spoke with the cast and crew at the launch event in Los Angeles, where Diggs discussed the vertical platform, and why he teamed up with co-founders James Black, Autumn Federici, Shelby Stone, and Troy Brookins.
“It sounded like it was something new, exciting. The people that I trusted were into it, and I decided to just follow their lead,” Diggs explained.
Related: Lifetime and Taye Diggs Team Up for Vertical Series ‘Tides of Temptation’
The Best Man star executive produced Tides of Temptation, which is set on the Caribbean island of Nevis. The series is an offshoot of Lifetime’s upcoming original movie, Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You, with both projects filmed on Nevis.
“It came with its challenges, but it was beautiful,” SwagBoyQ said about shooting the series in the Caribbean. “Everybody on set, on an off the camera, did a phenomenal job.”
Tides of Temptation follows Constance (Wilkerson), a young woman whose life is controlled by her abusive boyfriend and overbearing brother. When she falls for young athlete Jamal (SwagBoyQ), the pair discover their relationship could put everything they love at risk.
Wilkerson, who previously appeared alongside Diggs in the Lifetime movie His, Hers & Ours, said this was her first vertical project, which typically have smaller budgets and shorter production schedules.
“It was all kind of new but not too far off. With the right team, it made it kind of easy,” the actress said.
Lifetime partnered with Diggs on the microdrama as the network expands into the vertical storytelling space.
Liz Wise Lyall, Lifetime’s senior vice president of scripted programming, said the network hopes to reach a new audience and younger viewers through vertical projects.
“This is the absolute cutting edge of television,” Wise Lyall shared. “We’re hoping to create programming that can speak to the audience that we already have… and the other is speaking to the audience that doesn’t know Lifetime and bringing them to us.”
Asked if Microhouse will open doors for Black creatives, Diggs said that’s part of the plan.
“We gotta take a little extra time and look after our own to make sure,” he said.
The Microhouse Films app is available on Google Play and other app stores. The platform does not require a subscription. Instead, filmmakers decide which content is free and which is placed behind a credit-based paywall, giving them control over pricing and earnings.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
