Sunset Studios Debut Microdramas-Ready Standing Sets

And image of Stage 1 at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in L.A., which is painted pink and gray.

Stage 1 at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in L.A. Courtesy of Hudson Pacific Properties

Sunset Studios are courting microdrama productions with the debut of standing sets tailor-made for the verticals format.

The Hudson Pacific Properties-owned brand announced the launch of the sets, which were developed in partnership with the verticals studio Knockout Shorts, at its Sunset Las Palmas Studios lot on Tuesday. Sunset Las Palmas is offering courtroom, apartment, bar-slash-restaurant and hospital settings, all adapted from previous productions for major studios.

The sets are designed both to accommodate microdrama and traditional film and TV production, according to Sunset Studios, in a move pointing to the rise of microdrama filming in L.A. but also widespread uncertainty about its future.

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“These standing sets are about removing friction from the production process,” Sunset Studios svp of sales Sean Griffin said in a statement. “Creators can walk onto a completely built, and fully lit high-quality set and start shooting right away, while also enjoying the infrastructure and support of a premier Hollywood studio lot.”

The Knockout Shorts studio, based in L.A., is one of several recent upstart companies attempting to make inroads with the low-budget, fast-paced microdramas format. The studio has produced projects including The Most Eligible Heiress, Strings Attached and Country Heartthrob for DramaBox.

Said co-founders Matthew Ko and Chris Crema, the goal with the sets was to “empower creators with speed, flexibility, and production value.” The pair added, “These sets are designed to serve both the next generation of storytellers and established productions looking for efficiency without compromising quality.”

A hospital room standing set at Sunset Las Palmas. Courtesy of Hudson Pacific Properties

The move is notable for Sunset Studios, which has hosted the production of major films including La La Land, High Fidelity, X-Men and I Love You Man over the years, but hasn’t been immune to major studios’ recent pullback in content production and aggressive cost-cutting. As The Hollywood Reporter recently reported, Netflix — currently a key tenant for Sunset Studios — is in final talks to purchase the Radford Studio Center lot for around $330 million. If that transaction goes through, a shakeup could be in store for the streamer’s footprint in L.A., even as their leases on the Sunset Studios buildings currently extend until 2031.

Verticals productions have their own specific production needs. They tend to shoot in only a few locations to keep costs low and look for striking visuals (like color and wallpaper) as well as interesting floors and ceilings in their shooting locations, CandyJar executive producer Kelly Ann Parker recently told THR.

Sunset Las Palmas isn’t the first studio lot to host microdramas, nor will it likely be the last. In 2025, Wes Bailey, the CEO of SirReel Studio Services, told THR that verticals “went from something that never happened to something that is probably representing somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 percent of the shoots” on his soundstages. He added, “It may even be over 50 percent.”