Henry Soong, Former Facebook Employee, Launches Watch Club: A New Social Platform with Support from Google Ventures

Former Facebook Executive Launches New Microdrama Platform, Watch Club

Henry Soong, a former product management executive at Facebook, is spearheading the launch of Watch Club, a fresh entrant in the expanding realm of microdramas. The platform aims to develop into a fully-fledged social network, supported by Google Ventures, and is strategically targeting young women with engaging short-form dramatic series that foster interactive experiences, such as fan Q&As and reaction videos.

Microdramas have already established themselves as a multi-billion-dollar market in regions such as China and parts of Asia, and they are now gaining traction in the United States, where the sector is estimated to have surpassed $1 billion. Major Hispanic media companies, including TelevisaUnivision and Telemundo, alongside Disney and newer startups like Holywater and MicroCo, have made significant investments in this genre.

One of Watch Club’s flagship titles is Return Offer, an original teen drama that explores the professional and romantic dynamics among college interns vying for positions at a high-pressure AI startup. The series aims to capture the tone of popular youth-oriented shows such as Industry, Normal People, Skins, and SKAM. Currently in beta testing, Return Offer is set to make its debut in late February.

Soong emphasized Watch Club’s commitment to producing complex coming-of-age narratives, stating, "We make grounded, nuanced coming-of-age stories. We don’t do reductive damsel-in-distress or billionaire savior plots."

The initial offerings from Watch Club comprise ten shows, and the company is actively recruiting screenwriters for each project while collaborating with the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA. Devon Albert-Stone, Watch Club’s founding producer and a seasoned creative executive from Semi-Formal Productions, commented, "We work with the industry’s best rising writers to create shows that women in high school and college love to watch and compulsively talk about." Many of the writers involved have previously worked on series for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

Soong noted that Watch Club is tailored to meet the preferences of today’s audience, who increasingly utilize both large screens and mobile devices, and frequently engage with platforms like TikTok and Reddit.

Leading the creative efforts for Watch Club is Albert-Stone, who formerly co-headed creative development at Semi-Formal Productions, where she contributed to projects like The Dropout, I Love That for You, and The Big Sick. She began her career in development and production at Abominable Pictures.

Google Ventures led Watch Club’s seed funding round in 2025. KJ Sidberry, a partner at Google Ventures, remarked, "We’re drawn to founders who are obsessed with the change they intend to bring into this world. Henry deeply understands the intersection of storytelling and social connection. He gets how young audiences discover, discuss, and fall in love with content. It’s a new model for entertainment that can move at the speed of culture."

In addition to Google Ventures, Watch Club counts among its supporters executives from HBO Max, Hulu, Meta, Patreon co-founder Jack Conte, and Upside Ventures, which is affiliated with YouTube creators The Sidemen.