CEO Romance Short Drama Template

The classic power and tenderness story in five episodes: a meeting that goes wrong, a rule, a jealous beat and a confession that gets cut off.

Use this template
  • FitsThe first five episodes
  • IncludesFilled example and blank
  • CostFree to copy

Updated

A man in a navy suit and a woman in a red blouse stand close together in a bright glass atrium
A woman in a white dress and a man in a linen shirt stand close together on a sunny boat deck

Frames of the example, a CEO romance, made in Ziztu.

The template

The example is a CEO romance called Signed, Mr. Hale. The first five episodes are mapped with a power move and a soft moment in each, because that contrast is what the genre sells.

CEO romance plan

Signed, Mr. HaleYour title here

The pairing

The genre runs on contrast. Write what makes them wrong for each other and what makes them right.

Title
Signed, Mr. Hale
Her
Nora Bell, 26, a junior designer. Direct, funny, behind on rent. Wants her work taken seriously.
Him
Adrian Hale, 34, the CEO. Controlled, precise, lonely. Wants one person who does not need anything from him.
The obstacle
He signs her contract. She does not know he is the one who signed it.
The rule
No one at work can know. Not even Nora's best friend.

First five episodes

Each episode has one power move and one soft moment. The cliffhanger turns on whichever the viewer least expects.

EpScenePower moveSoft momentCliffhanger
1The elevatorHe tells a stranger to wait for the next one.He holds the door for her anyway.Her badge shows the 40th floor. His does too.
2The reviewHe cuts her proposal in front of the whole team.He keeps one page of it on his desk.Nora finds it by accident.
3The late nightHe orders her to go home.He drives behind her until she is inside.She sees the same car in the mirror.
4The galaHe introduces her as "my employee".He takes off his own coat and gives it to her in the rain.A photographer catches the coat.
5The contractHe puts a contract on the table.His hand is shaking when he slides it over.Nora reads the first line aloud: "Party B will pretend."

Dialogue bank

Three kinds of line carry the genre. Write a few of each before you write a scene.

  1. 1The cold line"I do not repeat myself." Short, final, never explained.
  2. 2The slip"You forgot your umbrella." He says it before he thinks.
  3. 3The confession"I never asked for anything. I am asking now." Always interrupted.

Paste it into Google Docs, Word, Notion or any text editor. It is free to copy and use.

The fastest way to use it

On your own

  • Copy the template into a document and fill it in.
  • Find an image tool, a video tool and a voice tool, and move your work between them.
  • Keep the same faces, places and style yourself, shot after shot.

In Ziztu

  • The idea box opens with the example already written. Change the names and press go.
  • Studio plans the shot list, makes every shot and adds the music, in one place.
  • Character sheets keep the cast looking the same in every shot.
  • 40 free credits, no card: write the script, cast your characters, draw the storyboard and hear the voices. Video starts at $12.
Use this template

How to fill it in

  1. 01

    Write the pairing and the obstacle

    Give each person a trait and a want, then one obstacle that keeps them apart. Keep the rule between them to a single sentence.

  2. 02

    Give each episode a power move and a soft moment

    Control and tenderness in the same episode is the whole genre. Make the cliffhanger come from one of them.

  3. 03

    Write the dialogue bank first

    Collect three cold lines, three slips and one interrupted confession, then build scenes around the best of them.

What makes it work

Contrast every scene

A cold act followed by a small kindness reads faster on a phone than a speech about feelings.

Interrupt the confession

The line he almost says is worth more than the line he says. Cut it off with a call, a door or a name.

One rule, always broken

A simple rule like no one can know gives you a reason for every secret meeting and every close call.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a CEO romance short drama?

It is a vertical romance series where one of the leads is a powerful, controlled executive and the other is someone who can say no to him. Each episode runs one to three minutes, and the genre is built on cold behaviour and small slips that show he cares.

How do I write a CEO romance?

Start with an obstacle, such as a contract or a secret identity, and one rule between the leads. Give each episode a power move and a soft moment, and end on the moment the viewer least expects.

How many episodes does a CEO romance short drama have?

First seasons often run between ten and thirty short episodes. This template maps the first five, which is enough to set up the pairing, the obstacle and the first cliffhanger.

Are the people in the example real?

No. Nora and Adrian are invented, and the pictures on this page are frames made in Ziztu with invented people. No real people, no franchise characters and no logos.

Can I make the first episode with AI?

Yes. Press Use this template to open the idea box with episode 1 written out, or try a single elevator scene in the micro drama generator. In Studio you can plan the whole episode with a cast that stays the same.

Is the template free?

Yes. Copy it as text, download it as a Markdown file or print it to PDF without an account.

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