Tommy Harper’s new microdrama starts filming in Baton Rouge | Entertainment/Life

While producer Tommy Harper focuses on production for Season 3 of Netflix’s supernatural, coming-of-age tale “Wednesday” in Ireland and France, his producing partner, Roberta Sparta, arrived in Louisiana last week to oversee another of Hollywood heavyweight Harper’s projects, the microdrama “Because of Her.”

Early last week, lead actor Kasey Esser shared video on social media as he prepared to film scenes at the home of Elona and Kyle Sharbaugh off Highland Road. On Thursday, cast and crew re-assembled at the Shaw Center for the Arts downtown for more filming.

“It’s humid; it’s humid. And I grew up in St. Louis, so I know what that feels like, but after being in LA for over a decade you sort of lose the fortitude on that one,” Esser, 37, said on Facebook shortly after arriving in town.

For those unfamiliar, microdramas, sometimes called vertical dramas or vertical series, are short-form shows designed to be watched on a phone held upright. Episodes typically run 60 to 90 seconds, with full seasons binged in about two to three hours.

Think soap operas with a 21st-century delivery.

Subscribers download platform apps, including Harper’s new global VeYou, and receive a few free episodes before being charged a fee to view more. Average costs can range from $10 to $20 a week.

Baton Rouge company Irrevocable Designee LLC has a three-year deal with Harper’s Tiny Verticals production arm to shoot as many as 72 such series in Louisiana over the next three years, so “Because of Her” is just the beginning.

“It’s a romantic comedy. Kasey Esser is a big actor in the space,” Harper said in late May.

Something to watch for besides Esser, who’s referred to as “the Brad Pitt of microdramas,” is brand integration, according to Harper. New Orleans clothier Haspel has signed on for “Because of Her,” so expect to see Esser and other chiseled-featured actors entering the screen in Haspel’s signature seersucker suits.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer for a brand and for us to work together, because you can integrate the brand into the story a very natural way, and then you can also use the brand to help promote the series,” Harper said. 

Harper, one of the creative minds behind many blockbuster films including “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Star Trek Beyond” and “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens,” is familiar with shooting in Louisiana, having worked as unit production manager on the “Battle Los Angeles” shoot in Baton Rouge.

“I had a good experience. It was all positive for me.” Harper said of the 2011 project starring Aaron Eckhart. “Dealing with the city and the government was great. Everybody was very accommodating. The crew was great. The facilities were amazing. … I’m sure it’ll be the same when I get back out there.”

Locals were used in multiple facets of the “Battle Los Angeles” production, and eventually 95% of talent signed on to Harper’s microdrama projects will be local as well, he explained.

Harper will be in the city periodically to oversee Tiny Verticals’ productions first-hand, although probably not for “Because of Her,” he said. 

Microseries shoots are quick, to say the least, lasting just seven to nine days. Three to four months later, the series is up and on the platform. Look for “Because of Her” on VeYou in late August or early September, said Harper.

“They (Tiny Verticals’ series) will be on other viewing platforms eventually, but all of our originals will go to VeYou exclusively for at least the first four weeks,” he said.

Harper also offered insights into what’s charting within the soaring trend of microseries, which first became popular in China: 

• Thirty- to 60-year-old women are the biggest consumers of vertical entertainment, and VeYou’s core demo.
• There are also titles suited for the Gen Z demographic, light thrillers and action, while high school romcom dramas and similar genres are still in the mix.
• For the male audience, thrillers, action pieces and some sports are available.

With the accelerated production window for microseries, taking advantage of location shoots in Louisiana will be a given.

“For this one (‘Because of Her’), I don’t even tell you where this series is located, but I’m just going to lean into the look and feel of Louisiana because it’s so picturesque,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I do that?”