A Kyiv Studio Wagers on the Vertical Drama
Holywater wasn’t founded as a television company. The company was established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 by Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov, and its portfolio to this day looks more like a mobile entertainment lab than a streaming network. My Drama is listed beside My Passion for books, My Muse for AI and FreeBits. That range is significant, as it describes a business that sees video as one consumer product among several rather than its complete identity. Eventually, Holywater wagered on the vertical drama, a style that began in China as duanju and is composed 9:16 for an upright phone. The category’s biggest names were supported by Chinese and Singaporean groups, so moving into this market was a daring step vertical streaming service for a small Ukrainian company.
Spring 2024 and the Launch of the My Drama App
Spring 2024 brought the launch of the My Drama app, though the precise date depends on which source you believe. TechCrunch dated the launch in April, Google Play shows March 13, 2024, and the App Store lists May 9, 2024. Android appears to have come first, since the difference between those store dates indicates, with the iPhone version following about two months later. The first slate leaned into the genre’s most popular tropes. Most of what you need to know about the tone is clear in the first titles such as The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast and Love Captive to a Mafia Boss. It was not the stories themselves that ultimately set the company apart, but the partner it would soon be producing them with.
A Fox Deal, a $22M Round and a Webby
My Drama ceased to be just a startup curiosity in October 2025. Fox Entertainment took an equity stake in Holywater, and the deal came with a pledge to produce more than 200 vertical titles over two years. Included in the Fox-produced titles on the platform are Billionaire Blackmail, Bound by Obsession and My Heart’s Offside. Horizon Capital headed a $22M round for Holywater three months later, in January 2026. A Webby Award for Best Streaming Service from 2025 is also held by the company, which displays it on its App Store listing. These milestones, taken together, give My Drama a distinctive asset that few rivals can claim: a major American studio serving as both shareholder and producer.
My Drama Fact File
For readers who only have a moment, the table below is the short version of the story. It gathers in one place the details on ownership, legal matters, platforms and pricing that count most to newcomers. The prices are those displayed in the US App Store as of September 2026. They differ by country, platform and promotion, so use them as a rough guide rather than a firm quote. The app shows 5M+ downloads on Google Play, which is what the install count refers to. Which legal entity you deal with is determined by where you live, a detail that becomes relevant if you ever need to contest a charge.
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Owner | Holywater, established in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 |
| Co-founders | Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov |
| Companion apps | My Passion (books), My Muse (AI), FreeBits |
| Contracting entity, US users | XOLY LIMITED (Delaware) |
| Contract party, other users | Holy Water Limited (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
| Launch | Spring 2024 (Google Play: March 13; App Store: May 9) |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV (tvOS 18+), Vision Pro, Android, web |
| Android downloads | Google Play: 5M+ |
| Full access pass | Around $19.99 per week, with automatic renewal |
| Coin packs | Roughly $4.99 to $24.99 |
| Premium options | Roughly $4.99 to $9.99 |
| Production partner | Fox Entertainment, equity stake since October 2025, 200+ titles over two years |
| Investment | $22M raised in January 2026, led by Horizon Capital |
| Honors | Webby Award for Best Streaming Service, 2025 |
The My Drama Viewing Experience
The basic experience mirrors the one the whole category is built on. Sized for an upright phone, episodes are vertical, and in this genre they typically run a minute or two before a cliffhanger pushes you toward the next. With series often running anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, one story can quietly eat up an evening in bite-sized pieces. The drama app truly sets itself apart in the range of screens it supports. It is listed for Apple TV on tvOS 18 or later and for Vision Pro, in addition to iPhone, iPad and Android. ReelShort’s App Store listing, for comparison, shows no Apple TV version at all, which shows that this big-screen option is less common than you might expect. The option transforms a solo phone habit into something a couple can enjoy together, even though a 9:16 frame will never fill a widescreen television.
Content-wise, the library combines Holywater’s own early productions with the growing Fox slate. The Fox releases stay close to the genre’s familiar formula, as titles like Billionaire Blackmail and Bound by Obsession make plain. The honest caveat here is scale. On Google Play the app shows 5M+ installs, a fraction of the 100M+ that ReelShort, DramaBox and ShortMax each list. In 2026, this gap makes clear that My Drama is a well-financed challenger rather than the category leader.
My Drama Pricing in 2026
The main figure is the weekly pass, one of three ways Holywater sells access. In the US App Store as of September 2026, “My Drama: Full Access” runs around $19.99 per week. The weekly passes from ReelShort, ShortMax, DramaWave and GoodShort are listed at about the same price in the same store, which places My Drama level with them. At about $4.99 to $24.99, coin packs unlock individual episodes. Lighter viewers have less expensive entry points than the full pass, since a separate Premium tier is listed at about $4.99 to $9.99. The figure on your own screen may differ, since prices vary by country, platform and promotion. Until you cancel it, the weekly subscription renews automatically, just as its rivals’ plans do. Four renewals of a $19.99 weekly pass total roughly $80 a month, so run the numbers before you commit.
Terms to Know Before You Pay
My Drama’s terms of use contain fine print that merits more attention than most viewers pay it. Coin purchases are final, so there is no easy refund if a series lets you down 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. In the EU and UK, there is a 14-day right of withdrawal, which reflects the consumer rules in those markets. Anything you buy on the web is described as non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. The terms make it clear, and this matters most, that deleting the app does not cancel your subscription. iPhone owners cancel under Settings, then their name, then Subscriptions, whereas Android users go through 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. US users sign with XOLY LIMITED, a Delaware company, while everyone else contracts with Holy Water Limited in Nicosia, Cyprus. A further warning applies to My Drama as much as to any vertical drama app. Modded APKs, unlimited coins and free coin generators come from unofficial sites, and those sites are not a safe way to watch anything. Canceling the pass, not hunting for a hack, is the proper move if the price seems too high.
The Verdict: A Challenger Backed by Hollywood
My Drama is not the biggest vertical drama app, and going by install counts it is not even close. 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 make up the unusual combination it offers instead. Viewers get a practical benefit in Apple TV support, which ReelShort, for one, does not list. The downside is the same one that affects every rival, namely a weekly pass of about $19.99 that renews quietly in the background. For viewers who simply want the largest claimed library, ShortMax and its 50,000+ dramas make the more obvious choice. Anyone who wants Fox-produced romance and the option to watch on a television should know that the My Drama app earns a place on their home screen. Either way, cancel through your store account rather than trusting the delete button, and set a reminder the day you subscribe.
