diff --git a/DOCS/man/input.rst b/DOCS/man/input.rst
index d3e49fc83d..1d66dc47bc 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/input.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/input.rst
@@ -937,6 +937,86 @@ Input Commands that are Possibly Subject to Change
     Remove an overlay added with ``overlay-add`` and the same ID. Does nothing
     if no overlay with this ID exists.
 
+``osd-overlay``
+    Add/update/remove an OSD overlay.
+
+    (Although this sounds similar to ``overlay-add``, ``osd-overlay`` is for
+    text overlays, while ``overlay-add`` is for bitmaps. Maybe ``overlay-add``
+    will be merged into ``osd-overlay`` to remove this oddity.)
+
+    You can use this to add text overlays in ASS format. ASS has advanced
+    positioning and rendering tags, which can be used to render almost any kind
+    of vector graphics.
+
+    This command accepts the following parameters:
+
+    ``id``
+        Arbitrary integer that identifies the overlay. Multiple overlays can be
+        added by calling this command with different ``id`` parameters. Calling
+        this command with the same ``id`` replaces the previously set overlay.
+
+        There is a separate namespace for each libmpv client (i.e. IPC
+        connection, script), so IDs can be made up and assigned by the API user
+        without conflicting with other API users.
+
+        If the libmpv client is destroyed, all overlays associated with it are
+        also deleted. In particular, connecting via ``--input-ipc-server``,
+        adding an overlay, and disconnecting will remove the overlay immediately
+        again.
+
+    ``format``
+        String that gives the type of the overlay. Accepts the following values:
+
+        ``ass-events``
+            The ``data`` parameter is a string. The string is split on the
+            newline character. Every line is turned into the ``Text`` part of
+            a ``Dialogue`` ASS event. Timing is unused (but behavior of timing
+            dependent ASS tags may change in future mpv versions).
+
+            Note that it's better to put multiple lines into ``data``, instead
+            of adding multiple OSD overlays.
+
+            This provides 2 ASS ``Styles``. ``OSD`` contains the text style as
+            defined by the current ``--osd-...`` options. ``Default`` is
+            similar, and contains style that ``OSD`` would have if all options
+            were set to the default.
+
+            In addition, the ``res_x`` and ``res_y`` options specify the value
+            of the ASS ``PlayResX`` and ``PlayResY`` header fields. If ``res_y``
+            is set to 0, ``PlayResY`` is initialized to an arbitrary default
+            value (but note that the default for this command is 720, not 0).
+            If ``res_x`` is set to 0, ``PlayResX`` is set based on ``res_y``
+            such that a virtual ASS pixel has a square pixel aspect ratio.
+
+        ``none``
+            Special value that causes the overlay to be removed. Most parameters
+            other than ``id`` and ``format`` are mostly ignored.
+
+    ``data``
+        String defining the overlay contents according to the ``format``
+        parameter.
+
+    ``res_x``, ``res_y``
+        Used if ``format`` is set to ``ass-events`` (see description there).
+        Optional, defaults to 0/720.
+
+    ``z``
+        The Z order of the overlay. Optional, defaults to 0.
+
+        Note that Z order between different overlays of different formats is
+        static, and cannot be changed (currently, this means that bitmap
+        overlays added by ``overlay-add`` are always on top of the ASS overlays
+        added by ``osd-overlay``). In addition, the builtin OSD components are
+        always below any of the custom OSD. (This includes subtitles of any kind
+        as well as text rendered by ``show-text``.)
+
+        It's possible that future mpv versions will randomly change how Z order
+        between different OSD formats and builtin OSD is handled.
+
+    Note: always use named arguments (``mpv_command_node()``). Scripts should
+    use the ``mp.create_osd_overlay()`` helper instead of invoking this command
+    directly.
+
 ``script-message [<arg1> [<arg2> [...]]]``
     Send a message to all clients, and pass it the following list of arguments.
     What this message means, how many arguments it takes, and what the arguments
diff --git a/DOCS/man/lua.rst b/DOCS/man/lua.rst
index d98edf38a9..0829e8be4b 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/lua.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/lua.rst
@@ -536,6 +536,41 @@ are useful only in special situations.
     Undo a previous registration with ``mp.register_script_message``. Does
     nothing if the ``name`` wasn't registered.
 
+``mp.create_osd_overlay(format)``
+    Create an OSD overlay. This is a very thin wrapper around the ``osd-overlay``
+    command. The function returns a table, which mostly contains fields that
+    will be passed to ``osd-overlay``. The ``format`` parameter is used to
+    initialize the ``format`` field. The ``data`` field contains the text to
+    be used as overlay. For details, see the ``osd-overlay`` command.
+
+    In addition, it provides the following methods:
+
+    ``update()``
+        Commit the OSD overlay to the screen, or in other words, run the
+        ``osd-overlay`` command with the current fields of the overlay table.
+
+    ``remove()``
+        Remove the overlay from the screen. A ``update()`` call will add it
+        again.
+
+    Example:
+
+    ::
+
+        ov = mp.create_osd_overlay("ass-events")
+        ov.data = "{\\an5}{\\b1}hello world!"
+        ov:update()
+
+    The advantage of using this wrapper (as opposed to running ``osd-overlay``
+    directly) is that the ``id`` field is allocated automatically.
+
+``mp.get_osd_size()``
+    Returns a tuple of ``osd_width, osd_height, osd_par``. The first two give
+    the size of the OSD in pixels (for video ouputs like ``--vo=xv``, this may
+    be "scaled" pixels). The third is the display pixel aspect ratio.
+
+    May return invalid/nonsense values if OSD is not initialized yet.
+
 mp.msg functions
 ----------------
 
diff --git a/player/client.c b/player/client.c
index e44f3cacea..97e43a15ce 100644
--- a/player/client.c
+++ b/player/client.c
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ static void mp_destroy_client(mpv_handle *ctx, bool terminate)
     // causes a crash, block until all asynchronous requests were served.
     mpv_wait_async_requests(ctx);
 
-    osd_set_external(mpctx->osd, ctx, 0, 0, NULL);
+    osd_set_external_remove_owner(mpctx->osd, ctx);
     mp_input_remove_sections_by_owner(mpctx->input, ctx->name);
 
     pthread_mutex_lock(&clients->lock);
diff --git a/player/command.c b/player/command.c
index 86715c8896..a230ad460c 100644
--- a/player/command.c
+++ b/player/command.c
@@ -4085,6 +4085,25 @@ static void overlay_uninit(struct MPContext *mpctx)
         mp_image_unrefp(&cmd->overlay_osd[n].packed);
 }
 
+static void cmd_osd_overlay(void *p)
+{
+    struct mp_cmd_ctx *cmd = p;
+    struct MPContext *mpctx = cmd->mpctx;
+
+    struct osd_external_ass ov = {
+        .owner  = cmd->cmd->sender,
+        .id     = cmd->args[0].v.i64,
+        .format = cmd->args[1].v.i,
+        .data   = cmd->args[2].v.s,
+        .res_x  = cmd->args[3].v.i,
+        .res_y  = cmd->args[4].v.i,
+        .z      = cmd->args[5].v.i,
+    };
+
+    osd_set_external(mpctx->osd, &ov);
+    mp_wakeup_core(mpctx);
+}
+
 static struct track *find_track_with_url(struct MPContext *mpctx, int type,
                                          const char *url)
 {
@@ -5877,6 +5896,19 @@ const struct mp_cmd_def mp_cmds[] = {
                                         OPT_INT("stride", v.i, 0), }},
     { "overlay-remove", cmd_overlay_remove, { OPT_INT("id", v.i, 0) } },
 
+    { "osd-overlay", cmd_osd_overlay,
+        {
+            OPT_INT64("id", v.i64, 0),
+            OPT_CHOICE("format", v.i, 0, ({"none", 0},
+                                          {"ass-events", 1})),
+            OPT_STRING("data", v.s, 0),
+            OPT_INT("res_x", v.i, 0, OPTDEF_INT(0)),
+            OPT_INT("res_y", v.i, 0, OPTDEF_INT(720)),
+            OPT_INT("z", v.i, 0, OPTDEF_INT(0)),
+        },
+        .is_noisy = true,
+    },
+
     { "write-watch-later-config", cmd_write_watch_later_config },
 
     { "hook-add", cmd_hook_add, { OPT_STRING("arg0", v.s, 0),
diff --git a/player/javascript.c b/player/javascript.c
index d478a326a8..5981eb848d 100644
--- a/player/javascript.c
+++ b/player/javascript.c
@@ -738,7 +738,7 @@ static void script_set_osd_ass(js_State *J)
     int res_x = jsL_checkint(J, 1);
     int res_y = jsL_checkint(J, 2);
     const char *text = js_tostring(J, 3);
-    osd_set_external(ctx->mpctx->osd, ctx->client, res_x, res_y, (char *)text);
+    //osd_set_external(ctx->mpctx->osd, ctx->client, res_x, res_y, (char *)text);
     mp_wakeup_core(ctx->mpctx);
     push_success(J);
 }
diff --git a/player/lua.c b/player/lua.c
index 69977dfd42..aec9908b69 100644
--- a/player/lua.c
+++ b/player/lua.c
@@ -998,31 +998,6 @@ static int script_raw_abort_async_command(lua_State *L)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static int script_set_osd_ass(lua_State *L)
-{
-    struct script_ctx *ctx = get_ctx(L);
-    int res_x = luaL_checkinteger(L, 1);
-    int res_y = luaL_checkinteger(L, 2);
-    const char *text = luaL_checkstring(L, 3);
-    if (!text[0])
-        text = " "; // force external OSD initialization
-    osd_set_external(ctx->mpctx->osd, ctx->client, res_x, res_y, (char *)text);
-    mp_wakeup_core(ctx->mpctx);
-    return 0;
-}
-
-static int script_get_osd_size(lua_State *L)
-{
-    struct MPContext *mpctx = get_mpctx(L);
-    struct mp_osd_res vo_res = osd_get_vo_res(mpctx->osd);
-    double aspect = 1.0 * vo_res.w / MPMAX(vo_res.h, 1) /
-                    (vo_res.display_par ? vo_res.display_par : 1);
-    lua_pushnumber(L, vo_res.w);
-    lua_pushnumber(L, vo_res.h);
-    lua_pushnumber(L, aspect);
-    return 3;
-}
-
 static int script_get_osd_margins(lua_State *L)
 {
     struct MPContext *mpctx = get_mpctx(L);
@@ -1275,8 +1250,6 @@ static const struct fn_entry main_fns[] = {
     FN_ENTRY(set_property_native),
     FN_ENTRY(raw_observe_property),
     FN_ENTRY(raw_unobserve_property),
-    FN_ENTRY(set_osd_ass),
-    FN_ENTRY(get_osd_size),
     FN_ENTRY(get_osd_margins),
     FN_ENTRY(get_mouse_pos),
     FN_ENTRY(get_time),
diff --git a/player/lua/defaults.lua b/player/lua/defaults.lua
index ba59653828..22ffa086d1 100644
--- a/player/lua/defaults.lua
+++ b/player/lua/defaults.lua
@@ -589,6 +589,65 @@ function mp.abort_async_command(t)
     end
 end
 
+local overlay_mt = {}
+overlay_mt.__index = overlay_mt
+local overlay_new_id = 0
+
+function mp.create_osd_overlay(format)
+    overlay_new_id = overlay_new_id + 1
+    local overlay = {
+        format = format,
+        id = overlay_new_id,
+        data = "",
+        res_x = 0,
+        res_y = 720,
+    }
+    setmetatable(overlay, overlay_mt)
+    return overlay
+end
+
+function overlay_mt.update(ov)
+    local cmd = {}
+    for k, v in pairs(ov) do
+        cmd[k] = v
+    end
+    cmd.name = "osd-overlay"
+    mp.command_native(cmd)
+end
+
+function overlay_mt.remove(ov)
+    mp.command_native {
+        name = "osd-overlay",
+        id = ov.id,
+        format = "none",
+        data = "",
+    }
+end
+
+-- legacy API
+function mp.set_osd_ass(res_x, res_y, data)
+    if not mp._legacy_overlay then
+        mp._legacy_overlay = mp.create_osd_overlay("ass-events")
+    end
+    mp._legacy_overlay.res_x = res_x
+    mp._legacy_overlay.res_y = res_y
+    mp._legacy_overlay.data = data
+    mp._legacy_overlay:update()
+end
+
+function mp.get_osd_size()
+    local w = mp.get_property_number("osd-width", 0)
+    local h = mp.get_property_number("osd-height", 0)
+    local par = mp.get_property_number("osd-par", 0)
+    if par == 0 then
+        par = 1
+    end
+
+    local aspect = 1.0 * w / math.max(h) / par
+    return w, h, aspect
+end
+
+
 local mp_utils = package.loaded["mp.utils"]
 
 function mp_utils.format_table(t, set)
diff --git a/sub/osd.h b/sub/osd.h
index 660a828767..31b3dd532b 100644
--- a/sub/osd.h
+++ b/sub/osd.h
@@ -202,9 +202,18 @@ struct mp_osd_res osd_get_vo_res(struct osd_state *osd);
 void osd_rescale_bitmaps(struct sub_bitmaps *imgs, int frame_w, int frame_h,
                          struct mp_osd_res res, double compensate_par);
 
+struct osd_external_ass {
+    void *owner; // unique pointer (NULL is also allowed)
+    int64_t id;
+    int format;
+    char *data;
+    int res_x, res_y;
+    int z;
+};
+
 // defined in osd_libass.c and osd_dummy.c
-void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, void *id, int res_x, int res_y,
-                      char *text);
+void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_external_ass *ov);
+void osd_set_external_remove_owner(struct osd_state *osd, void *owner);
 void osd_get_text_size(struct osd_state *osd, int *out_screen_h, int *out_font_h);
 void osd_get_function_sym(char *buffer, size_t buffer_size, int osd_function);
 
diff --git a/sub/osd_dummy.c b/sub/osd_dummy.c
index 0e6b802cef..db032ec5b1 100644
--- a/sub/osd_dummy.c
+++ b/sub/osd_dummy.c
@@ -24,8 +24,11 @@ void osd_object_get_bitmaps(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_object *obj,
     *out_imgs = (struct sub_bitmaps) {0};
 }
 
-void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, void *id, int res_x, int res_y,
-                      char *text)
+void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_external_ass *ov)
+{
+}
+
+void osd_set_external_remove_owner(struct osd_state *osd, void *owner)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/sub/osd_libass.c b/sub/osd_libass.c
index d5f7bb82bf..01c0337eb4 100644
--- a/sub/osd_libass.c
+++ b/sub/osd_libass.c
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ static void destroy_ass_renderer(struct ass_state *ass)
 
 static void destroy_external(struct osd_external *ext)
 {
-    talloc_free(ext->text);
     destroy_ass_renderer(&ext->ass);
+    talloc_free(ext);
 }
 
 void osd_destroy_backend(struct osd_state *osd)
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ void osd_destroy_backend(struct osd_state *osd)
         struct osd_object *obj = osd->objs[n];
         destroy_ass_renderer(&obj->ass);
         for (int i = 0; i < obj->num_externals; i++)
-            destroy_external(&obj->externals[i]);
+            destroy_external(obj->externals[i]);
         obj->num_externals = 0;
     }
 }
@@ -470,11 +470,9 @@ static void update_osd(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_object *obj)
 static void update_external(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_object *obj,
                             struct osd_external *ext)
 {
-    bstr t = bstr0(ext->text);
-    if (!t.len)
-        return;
-    ext->ass.res_x = ext->res_x;
-    ext->ass.res_y = ext->res_y;
+    bstr t = bstr0(ext->ov.data);
+    ext->ass.res_x = ext->ov.res_x;
+    ext->ass.res_y = ext->ov.res_y;
     create_ass_track(osd, obj, &ext->ass);
 
     clear_ass(&ext->ass);
@@ -497,29 +495,42 @@ static void update_external(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_object *obj,
     }
 }
 
-void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, void *id, int res_x, int res_y,
-                      char *text)
+static int cmp_zorder(const void *pa, const void *pb)
+{
+    const struct osd_external *a = *(struct osd_external **)pa;
+    const struct osd_external *b = *(struct osd_external **)pb;
+    return a->ov.z == b->ov.z ? 0 : (a->ov.z > b->ov.z ? 1 : -1);
+}
+
+void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_external_ass *ov)
 {
     pthread_mutex_lock(&osd->lock);
     struct osd_object *obj = osd->objs[OSDTYPE_EXTERNAL];
-    struct osd_external *entry = 0;
+    bool zorder_changed = false;
+    int index = -1;
+
     for (int n = 0; n < obj->num_externals; n++) {
-        if (obj->externals[n].id == id) {
-            entry = &obj->externals[n];
+        struct osd_external *e = obj->externals[n];
+        if (e->ov.id == ov->id && e->ov.owner == ov->owner) {
+            index = n;
             break;
         }
     }
-    if (!entry && !text)
-        goto done;
 
-    if (!entry) {
-        struct osd_external new = { .id = id };
+    if (index < 0) {
+        if (!ov->format)
+            goto done;
+        struct osd_external *new = talloc_zero(NULL, struct osd_external);
+        new->ov.owner = ov->owner;
+        new->ov.id = ov->id;
         MP_TARRAY_APPEND(obj, obj->externals, obj->num_externals, new);
-        entry = &obj->externals[obj->num_externals - 1];
+        index = obj->num_externals - 1;
+        zorder_changed = true;
     }
 
-    if (!text) {
-        int index = entry - &obj->externals[0];
+    struct osd_external *entry = obj->externals[index];
+
+    if (!ov->format) {
         destroy_external(entry);
         MP_TARRAY_REMOVE_AT(obj->externals, obj->num_externals, index);
         obj->changed = true;
@@ -527,22 +538,46 @@ void osd_set_external(struct osd_state *osd, void *id, int res_x, int res_y,
         goto done;
     }
 
-    if (!entry->text || strcmp(entry->text, text) != 0 ||
-        entry->res_x != res_x || entry->res_y != res_y)
-    {
-        talloc_free(entry->text);
-        entry->text = talloc_strdup(NULL, text);
-        entry->res_x = res_x;
-        entry->res_y = res_y;
-        update_external(osd, obj, entry);
-        obj->changed = true;
-        osd->want_redraw_notification = true;
+    entry->ov.format = ov->format;
+    if (!entry->ov.data)
+        entry->ov.data = talloc_strdup(entry, "");
+    entry->ov.data[0] = '\0'; // reuse memory allocation
+    entry->ov.data = talloc_strdup_append(entry->ov.data, ov->data);
+    entry->ov.res_x = ov->res_x;
+    entry->ov.res_y = ov->res_y;
+    zorder_changed |= entry->ov.z != ov->z;
+    entry->ov.z = ov->z;
+
+    update_external(osd, obj, entry);
+
+    obj->changed = true;
+    osd->want_redraw_notification = true;
+
+    if (zorder_changed) {
+        qsort(obj->externals, obj->num_externals, sizeof(obj->externals[0]),
+              cmp_zorder);
     }
 
 done:
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&osd->lock);
 }
 
+void osd_set_external_remove_owner(struct osd_state *osd, void *owner)
+{
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&osd->lock);
+    struct osd_object *obj = osd->objs[OSDTYPE_EXTERNAL];
+    for (int n = obj->num_externals - 1; n >= 0; n--) {
+        struct osd_external *e = obj->externals[n];
+        if (e->ov.owner == owner) {
+            destroy_external(e);
+            MP_TARRAY_REMOVE_AT(obj->externals, obj->num_externals, n);
+            obj->changed = true;
+            osd->want_redraw_notification = true;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&osd->lock);
+}
+
 static void append_ass(struct ass_state *ass, struct mp_osd_res *res,
                        ASS_Image **img_list, bool *changed)
 {
@@ -574,8 +609,8 @@ void osd_object_get_bitmaps(struct osd_state *osd, struct osd_object *obj,
 
     append_ass(&obj->ass, &obj->vo_res, &obj->ass_imgs[0], &obj->changed);
     for (int n = 0; n < obj->num_externals; n++) {
-        append_ass(&obj->externals[n].ass, &obj->vo_res, &obj->ass_imgs[n + 1],
-                   &obj->changed);
+        append_ass(&obj->externals[n]->ass, &obj->vo_res,
+                   &obj->ass_imgs[n + 1], &obj->changed);
     }
 
     mp_ass_packer_pack(obj->ass_packer, obj->ass_imgs, obj->num_externals + 1,
diff --git a/sub/osd_state.h b/sub/osd_state.h
index ac8befe3ba..8207cf0dda 100644
--- a/sub/osd_state.h
+++ b/sub/osd_state.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ struct osd_object {
     struct dec_sub *sub;
 
     // OSDTYPE_EXTERNAL
-    struct osd_external *externals;
+    struct osd_external **externals;
     int num_externals;
 
     // OSDTYPE_EXTERNAL2
@@ -56,9 +56,7 @@ struct osd_object {
 };
 
 struct osd_external {
-    void *id;
-    char *text;
-    int res_x, res_y;
+    struct osd_external_ass ov;
     struct ass_state ass;
 };