COL Group’s FlareFlow and Singapore-based Bomanbridge Media have partnered on one of the first premium vertical format documentary series, with the wildlife title set to launch on the platform in more than 200 countries in late Q3 2026.
Mapogo: Throne of the Lions, which was unveiled at Owl&Co’s Vertical Media Summit in Los Angeles, was filmed over several years at South Africa’s Sabi Sands Game Reserve and follows the rise and fall of the Mapogo Lion Coalition. Its members, including Mr. T, Kinky Tail, and Makuru, track the rise and fall of the Mapogo Lion Coalition, which killed over 100 rival lions during its reign and is believed to have maintained a devoted online following even after its reign ended.
Microdrama star Sam Meyerson will narrate the series. Meyerson broke out with “Oops, I Married My Best Friend’s Brother,” which racked up 220 million views within 10 days of its release on FlareFlow.
“The narration of ‘Mapogo’ is a great opportunity to demonstrate how the core elements of great microdrama are absolutely universal,” Meyerson said. “The same elements that make fans fall in love with Microdramas — intense drama, high-stakes stakes and shifting loyalties — are exactly what makes Lions so appealing. We’re bringing that same fast-paced, gripping energy to our new documentary-style Microdramas.”
The project is positioned as the flagship title of FlareFlow’s Vertical 2.0 initiative, which aims to push the platform’s short-form mobile format beyond scripted content and into premium fact-based programming. FlareFlow currently features approximately 5,200 series, counts 33 million registered users in over 200 countries and territories, and has content available in 14 languages.
“‘Mapogo: Throne of the Lion’ is the perfect story to launch documentaries as part of Vertical 2.0, because it’s a great story,” said Timothy Oh, general manager of international operations at COL Group and chief marketing officer at Flareflow. “This is one of the most legendary true stories of wild animals, packed with betrayal, power, loss, and suspense that Vertical viewers will instinctively relate to.”
Headquartered in Singapore with additional offices in London, Bowmanbridge offers a catalog of over 5,700 hours across factual, wildlife, history, lifestyle and screenplay genres. The company recently expanded its reach in the luxury natural history sector through the acquisition of UK-based distributor West One International (now rebranded as Bowmanbridge West) and a production partnership with German natural history specialist Dokreitz.
“The factual genre has always evolved with changes in viewer behavior and viewing technology,” said Sonia Fleck, CEO of Bowmanbridge Media. “As viewing habits become increasingly mobile-native, we believe the next generation of factual storytelling needs to evolve with it.”
COL Group is listed on the ChiNext Board of Directors of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and is one of the earliest developers of the microdrama sector in both China and the United States.
