James Franco headlines Shortical microdrama, the biggest Hollywood name yet in vertical-format streaming

James Franco stars in 'Love, Lies & Frank,' a 46-episode Shortical microdrama with episodes from 40 seconds to two minutes — vertical-format phone streaming. Variety reports Franco is the biggest Hollywood name yet to headline the low-budget format, following Taye Diggs' 43-part 'Off Limits and All Mine' on CandyJar. Franco, 48, had been largely absent since 2018 sexual misconduct allegations and a 2021 settlement.