Meet the fans fueling a billion-dollar boom in escapist 'micro dramas' full of werewolves and mafia bosses

L-R: Micro drama fans Michelle Bickford, Sandi Nascimento, and Melissa Dominguez.

Bickford, Nascimento, Dominguez

• Fueling the growth of soapy micro dramas are fans who find an escape in the fast-paced series.
• Interaction with the actors and fellow fans online is part of their appeal.
• Fans say they're fed up with excessive violence and ready for fresh themes and genres, however.

Michelle Bickford, a 49-year-old therapist in Denver, stopped subscribing to cable TV a few years ago.