Moretti or Sinclair: Why dragons, elves and 'mafia' are taking over your feed
MANILA, Philippines — You're living under a rock, so to speak, if you haven't come across those AI memes or clips of ridiculously handsome men with last names like Moretti, Sinclair, Blackwood or Vance, who can sometimes transform into mythical creatures such as dragons or foxes, depending on whether the genre is fantasy or dark mafia romance.
Shorts, microdramas or vertical dramas have been all the rage in recent years. The stories are nothing new: a mafia boss falls in love with a down-on-her-luck, unsuspecting woman. Or, if you're into Chinese dramas, a 21st-century woman gets transported into a novel or book. Live actors star in these dramas, many of them lesser known than mainstream stars.
Early this year, long-form Chinese dramas broke the Philippine internet, led by the phenomenal hit "Pursuit of Jade," starring Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei. In the past few weeks, however, a noticeable trend of AI dramas from China and English-language markets has begun sprouting on video platforms.
Henry Cavill template
As the name suggests, these dramas feature AI-generated actors who often resemble popular stars such as fan-favorite Henry Cavill, Xu Kai or Dylan Wang.
Imagine Henry Cavill as the dragon lord in a reverse-harem or beast-world series. Dylan Wang or Xu Kai as the noble general, crown prince or regent who enters an arranged or contract marriage with the heroine, who usually gets transmigrated into an online novel or book.
These AI dramas have been popping up across social media platforms, piquing the curiosity of people who catch them through algorithmic recommendations. The clips often tease viewers and end in cliffhangers, prompting them to download apps that offer free AI short dramas.
One e-commerce or shopping platform even recently included a short drama tab featuring both real and AI actors.
Fan pages and community pages also feature playful quote cards or art cards discussing these AI dramas and their favorite mafia boss or wolf king.
Intriguing titles such as "Deny Me Dragon King," "My Baby Daddy is the Elf Prince," "Mafia Boss' Contract Bride" or "My Six Beast Husbands Refuse to Divorce Me" are surefire clickbait that feed many people's fantasies.
The fantasy has even extended to fans editing themselves into photos with favorite characters such as Don Moretti or Sinclair, either as a couple or with the character as their desired fantasy husband.
Impact on real actors
On the flip side, there have been reports of actors who once dominated the shorts industry having to look for alternative jobs.
South China Morning Post published two reports featuring Chinese short-drama actors Xu Peng and Zhang Xiaolei, who found themselves out of acting work amid the rise of AI dramas.
Xu Peng now works as a vegetable vendor, while Zhang Xiaolei began doing farm work in the province.
A Financial Times report titled "China's actors written out of dramas as AI doubles ready to take their roles," published on August 29, 2026, tackled the impact of AI dramas on human actors.
It reported that the release of AI-powered video software, such as ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 model, has enabled producers to create high-quality video featuring digital actors faster and at lower cost.
The Financial Times article cited data from the China Netcasting Services Association showing that about 128,000 short dramas were released in the first quarter of 2026, with 95% of them AI-generated.
It also cited a report from the National School of Development at Peking University estimating that China's short-drama sector directly employed about 690,000 people in 2025.
AI dramas appear to be here to stay as their production continues to surge. Whatever the preferred genre, their proliferation on social media is likely to continue, especially since many of these take less time to produce and, for the most part, feature a romantic hero with the ideal "look," even if he is a walking red flag.
RELATED: One epic love story: Hit C-drama ‘Pursuit of Jade’ a rare gem among dramas
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