The Vertical Drama Wager of a Kyiv Studio
Holywater wasn’t born as a television business. It was in 2020 that Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov founded the studio in Kyiv, Ukraine, and its product lineup still reads more like a lab for mobile entertainment than a streaming service. My Passion is for books, My Muse covers AI, and FreeBits completes the set alongside My Drama. That spread matters, since video is one of several consumer products for Holywater, not its whole identity. Eventually, the company wagered on the vertical drama, a style that originated in China as duanju and is framed 9:16 for a phone held upright. The sector’s leading names were supported by Chinese and Singaporean groups, so moving into this market was a reels shorts series daring move for a small Ukrainian firm.
Spring 2024 and the Debut of the My Drama App
In spring 2024, the My Drama app arrived, though the exact date depends on which record you believe. Per TechCrunch, the launch took place in April, whereas Google Play shows March 13, 2024, and the App Store lists May 9, 2024. Android appears to have come first, as the difference between those store dates suggests, with the iPhone version following about two months later. From the start, the 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 some of the first titles, and their names reveal most of what you need to know about the mood. What eventually distinguished the company was not the stories themselves but the collaborator it would soon be making them with.
A Fox Deal, a $22M Round and a Webby
My Drama stopped being just a startup curiosity in October 2025. An equity stake in Holywater was taken by Fox Entertainment, and the deal carried a pledge to make more than 200 vertical titles over two years. Horizon Capital led a $22M funding round for Holywater three months later, in January 2026. The platform hosts Fox-produced titles including Billionaire Blackmail, Bound by Obsession and My Heart’s Offside. On its App Store listing, the company features a further credential: a Webby Award for Best Streaming Service from 2025. Few rivals can boast what those milestones give My Drama, namely a big American studio serving as both shareholder and producer.
My Drama at a Glance
The quick version of the story is in the table below, for readers who only have a minute. The ownership, legal, platform and pricing details that count most to a new viewer are collected in one place. As of September 2026, the prices are those listed in the US App Store. Since they change by country, platform and promotion, read them as a rough guide rather than a quote. The legal entity you sign up with depends on where you live, which turns out to be relevant if you ever need to contest a charge. The app shows 5M+ downloads on Google Play, which is what the install figure refers to.
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Holywater, established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 |
| Co-founders | Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov |
| Sister apps | My Passion for books, My Muse for AI, plus FreeBits |
| Contracting entity, US users | XOLY LIMITED (Delaware) |
| Legal entity for other users | Holy Water Limited (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
| Launch | Spring 2024 (Google Play: March 13; App Store: May 9) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV (tvOS 18+), Vision Pro, Android, web |
| Android installs | 5M+ via Google Play |
| Full access pass | Roughly $19.99 a week, auto-renewing |
| Coin packs | Around $4.99 to $24.99 |
| Premium plans | Roughly $4.99 to $9.99 |
| Production partner | Fox Entertainment, equity stake held since October 2025, 200+ titles over two years |
| Latest funding | $22M in January 2026, led by Horizon Capital |
| Recognition | Webby Award, Best Streaming Service, 2025 |
The My Drama Viewing Experience
The basic experience matches the one the whole category is founded on. Sized for an upright phone, episodes are vertical, and in this genre they usually last a minute or two before a cliffhanger nudges you toward the next. Series often run anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, so a single story can quietly consume an evening in short bites. Where this drama app truly distinguishes itself is the range of screens it supports. Apart from iPhone, iPad and Android, the app is listed for Vision Pro and for Apple TV on tvOS 18 or later. For comparison, ReelShort’s App Store listing shows no Apple TV version at all, so that big-screen option is rarer than you might think. A 9:16 frame will never fill a widescreen TV, but the option converts a solo phone habit into something a couple can watch together.
In terms of content, the library combines Holywater’s own early productions with the growing Fox slate. Titles like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession demonstrate that the Fox releases stay close to the genre’s familiar formula. Here, the fair caveat is scale. On Google Play the app lists 5M+ installs, a fraction of the 100M+ that ReelShort, DramaBox and ShortMax each list. In 2026, this gap shows that My Drama is a well-funded challenger rather than the category leader.
My Drama Pricing in 2026
Access is sold three ways, and the main figure is the weekly pass. “My Drama: Full Access” costs 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 My Drama sits level with them. To unlock individual episodes, there are coin packs priced from around $4.99 to $24.99. A separate Premium tier is listed at about $4.99 to $9.99, so lighter viewers have less expensive entry points than the full pass. Like its rivals’ plans, the weekly subscription renews automatically until you cancel it. Country, platform and promotional offers all change prices, so the figure on your own screen may be different. Do the math before you commit, because four renewals of a $19.99 weekly pass come to roughly $80 a month.
The Terms to Understand Before You Pay
Most viewers pay less attention than they should to the fine print in My Drama’s terms of use. Coin purchases are final, so there is no easy refund if a series disappoints after you unlock it. Coins are also forfeited after 12 months of inactivity, which means a balance you ignore for a year can simply vanish. A 14-day right of withdrawal applies to viewers in the EU and UK, in line with the consumer rules in those markets. Purchases made on the web are described as non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. Deleting the app does not cancel your subscription, and the terms state this clearly, and that is the most important point of all. To cancel on an iPhone, open Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions; on Android, use the Subscriptions menu in Google Play. Refunds for store purchases are processed by Apple or Google, not by Holywater.
It also helps to know exactly who sits on the other side of the contract. Everyone outside the US contracts with Holy Water Limited in Nicosia, Cyprus, while US users contract with XOLY LIMITED, a Delaware company. One more warning applies to My Drama as much as to any vertical drama app. Sites promising modded APKs, unlimited coins or free coin generators are unofficial, and they are not a safe way to watch anything. Cancelling the pass, not looking for a hack, is the legitimate move if the price feels steep.
The Verdict: A Challenger Backed by Hollywood
On install counts, My Drama is not the largest vertical drama app, and it is not close. Instead, it offers an uncommon 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, something ReelShort, for one, does not list. Like every rival, the downside is a weekly pass of about $19.99 that renews quietly in the background. ShortMax, with its 50,000+ dramas, is the more obvious choice if you simply want the largest claimed library. The My Drama app earns a place on your home screen if you want Fox-produced romance and the option to watch on a TV. Either way, do not trust the delete button: set a reminder the day you subscribe and cancel through your store account.
