James Franco Leads New Short-Form Drama "Love, Lies & Frank" on Shortical

James Franco headlines the new micro-drama "Love, Lies & Frank," now available only on the Shortical platform and counted among the inaugural series created under SAG-AFTRA’s Verticals Agreement. Franco portrays Jimmy Frank, a flamboyant ad-agency chief confronting lingering criminal and supernatural dangers, while Neela Jolene’s Daniella Hanson lands a dream campaign and rekindles a secret romance with Eric Guilmette’s Cameron Frank.

The show is directed by Eric Wang Schwager, written by Melissa Lynn Moore, and produced by Knockout Shorts together with Peter Gold of Gold Films. Shortical’s chief executive Guy Shimoni highlighted the series as evidence that major Hollywood talent is embracing vertical, mobile-first formats. Matthew Ko, co-founder of Knockout Shorts, noted the production deliberately blends familiar genre tropes with unexpected twists, and confirmed no AI-generated actors were used. Franco, who recently appeared at Cannes, addressed past allegations from his defunct acting school, denying wrongdoing while acknowledging the concerns raised.