I’ve never sat through a full episode of the “Happy Wife Happy Life” podcast, hosted by Jordan Myrick and Kendahl Landreth, but I have definitely seen the many short clips that circulate online. A recent Instagram Reels algorithm pushed a brief rant from Myrick about feeling misled by the health‑care system to me and five million other viewers. I spent the next hour scrolling through more Reels from the show, enjoying the couple’s witty banter, yet I never felt the need to follow them to another platform for the full episodes.
On Monday, Instagram revealed that it will broaden a U.S. test that lets creators upload videos up to 90 minutes long and switch the orientation from vertical to horizontal. The update also allows short clips to link directly to the full‑length versions. “Our belief here is that entertainment and creativity are not limited to a three‑minute video,” said Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product, in an interview with WIRED. She said the goal is to turn Instagram into “the best place for social entertainment” by reshaping how video works on the app. The changes could make Instagram feel more like a streaming service, especially as users begin watching longer videos on larger screens.
Instagram is also rolling out new creator tools to turn Reels into episodic series. “We want to be able to say, ‘Wow, Reece loved episode 3. So, as soon as episode 4 drops, we’ve got to make sure to show it to him,’” Lyons explained. The feature, called “Series,” is already live for some creators and is being tested for TV viewing as well.
The platform is focusing on the TV‑watching experience, looking for ways to make it feel social. For example, the Friends tab could show what your connections are watching, and Instagram plans to let smartphones function as TV remotes.
Lyons sees this video‑centric overhaul as a correction of IGTV’s biggest flaw. IGTV, Meta’s earlier attempt at longer content, required vertical video and never gained traction, leading to its shutdown a few years after its 2018 launch. By allowing horizontal video, Instagram hopes to avoid that mistake.
While the move challenges YouTube’s dominance on TV, it also builds on Instagram’s strength as a hub for short clips. Bite‑sized snippets, often featuring two people behind podcast microphones, dominate social feeds, and many creators use them to increase visibility. WIRED’s own podcast now records video specifically for social‑media clipping.
Instagram is trying to streamline the path from casual viewer to dedicated fan. Instead of having viral clips on one platform and full episodes on another, the company wants users to discover a short clip in the morning and later be nudged to watch the entire episode on their TV through the same app. “What we’re seeing right now is that a lot of great short‑form content is vertical, and a lot of great long‑form content is horizontal, and we have the design challenge of figuring out how to make that all work cohesively in one product,” Lyons said. “TV becomes a great destination for watching long‑form, horizontal content, and mobile becomes a great place for discovering that content.”