Viewer interest in Indian shows on IMDb rose about 17-fold over the past decade, even as the number of new shows and seasons commissioned in the country has dropped for two straight years, according to a new IMDb study that traces the growth of Indian streaming through its most popular titles. It ranks each year’s 10 biggest Indian series from 2016 to 2026, a total of 110 slots filled by 64 different shows. It also looks past the top tier at how viewing habits and production patterns have shifted, including the rise of streaming franchises.
Crime and thriller titles took 48 of the 110 positions. In the later years, horror, romance, comedy and drama all made gains. Among streamers, Prime Video and Amazon MX Player combined for 34 positions across 17 series, more than any other service.
Netflix logged 21 positions spread over 18 series, the broadest range of distinct titles of the platforms the report examined. YouTube emerged as a launchpad. Thirteen of the 64 charting series started life there, and 11 of those were later picked up by subscription services.
The report credited the platform with giving a wide base of creators room to build stories that can travel to bigger audiences. The Viral Fever (TVF) stood out on the production side. The company was behind nine of the charting series and 17 of the Top 10 slots, close to one in every six entries, a run that opened with “TVF Pitchers” in 2016 and reaches “Sapne vs Everyone” this year.
On the talent front, the report named Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover as “The MVPs of Streaming,” a group linked to recurring franchises and a string of hit series. Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh ranked as the most versatile performers, each appearing in at least five series in a variety of roles rather than being anchored to one franchise. The study also pointed to multi-hyphenates such as Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha, Barun Sobti and Karan Tacker as examples of actors carrying an established screen persona into a new format.
Production volume told a more cautious story. Commissions of new series and seasons hit 202 in 2023, then slipped to 169 in 2024 and 145 in 2025. The report read this as a sign of a pickier market as the business consolidates.
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