COL Group, Bomanbridge prep vertical natural history series for FlareFlow

Mapogo: The Lion Throne

China’s COL Group International and distribution and production firm Bomanbridge are working together on a vertical documentary series that will launch on microdrama platform FlareFlow later this year, bringing natural history storytelling into the vertical space.

Narrated by microdrama star Sam Myerson, Mapogo: The Lion Throne (working title) will launch on FlareFlow in the third quarter.

COL Group-owned FlareFlow, which has released about 5,200 series to date, is expanding its offering beyond microdramas to include natural history content as part of a strategy dubbed Vertical 2.0.

The wildlife documentary was filmed over several years in South Africa’s Sabi Sands Game Reserve, chronicling the brutal rise and tragic fall of the Mapogo Lion Coalition, widely regarded as the most famous, feared and legendary lion dynasty ever documented.

Sam Myerson

Myerson is the star of viral hits such as Oops I Married My Bestie’s Brother and said soapy microdramas and high-end natural history content has more in common than people may think.

“The same things that keep fans hooked on microdramas, like intense drama, high stakes and shifting loyalties, are exactly what make these lions so fascinating. We are bringing that same fast-paced, gripping energy to a new documentary format of microdrama,” said Myerson.

Timothy Oh, general manager of international business at COL Group and chief marketing officer at FlareFlow, said: “Vertical storytelling has already entered its next chapter. Mapogo: The Lion Throne is the perfect story to launch documentary as part of Vertical 2.0 because its emotional DNA already mirrors the very best premium scripted storytelling.

“This is one of wildlife’s most legendary true sagas, packed with all the betrayal, power, loss and suspense that vertical audiences connect with instinctively.”

Sonia Fleck, CEO of Singapore-headquartered Bomanbridge Media, said: “The factual genre has always evolved alongside shifts in audience behaviour and viewing technology.

“Following our continued expansion through international partnerships and catalogue acquisitions, we saw a clear opportunity to bring premium natural history storytelling into the vertical space, an area that remains largely untapped for documentary. As viewing habits become increasingly mobile-native, we believe the next generation of factual storytelling must evolve alongside them.”