Indian Streaming Interest Soared 17-Fold in a Decade, but New Commissions Are Shrinking

Audience interest in Indian shows on IMDb has grown roughly 17 times over the past decade, yet the number of new series and seasons ordered in the country has declined for two years in a row. The findings come from a new IMDb study that follows the rise of Indian streaming through its most popular titles.

The study, titled "10 Years of Streaming in India. An IMDb Report 2026," is based on page views from the more than 250 million people who visit IMDb around the world each month. It ranks the 10 biggest Indian series for every year from 2016 to 2026. That adds up to 110 slots, filled by 64 different shows. The report also examines changing viewing habits and production trends, including the growth of streaming franchises.

"Mirzapur" came out on top with nine appearances, having made the list in every year since its debut. "Scam 1992" was the only show to chart five times on the strength of a single season. Crime and thriller titles claimed 48 of the 110 positions, while horror, romance, comedy and drama gained ground in later years.

Among streaming services, Prime Video and Amazon MX Player together held 34 positions across 17 series, the most of any platform. Netflix recorded 21 positions across 18 series, the widest spread of distinct titles among the platforms the report looked at.

YouTube also emerged as an important starting point. Thirteen of the 64 charting series began there, and 11 of them were later acquired by subscription services. The report credited the platform with giving a broad base of creators the space to develop stories that can reach larger audiences.

On the production side, The Viral Fever (TVF) stood out. The company made nine of the charting series and accounted for 17 Top 10 slots, close to one in every six entries. Its run began with "TVF Pitchers" in 2016 and extends to "Sapne vs Everyone" this year.

The report also singled out performers. Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover were named "The MVPs of Streaming," tied to recurring franchises and a run of hit series. Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh were ranked the most versatile, each appearing in at least five series in varied roles rather than being tied to a single franchise. Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha, Barun Sobti and Karan Tacker were cited as multi-hyphenates who brought an established screen persona to a new format.

Production figures painted a more cautious picture. Commissions of new series and seasons reached 202 in 2023, then dropped to 169 in 2024 and 145 in 2025. The report interpreted this as a sign of a more selective market as the industry consolidates. Hindi-language shows made up 66% of Indian streaming originals in 2025.

"Building on the success of last year's report on Indian cinema, we turned our lens to series and used IMDb Data to understand how a decade of streaming has reshaped audience interests," said Yaminie Patodia, head of IMDb India. She said IMDb also invited industry leaders to discuss what comes next, including Gaurav Gandhi of Prime Video, Gunjan Soni of YouTube, Monika Shergill of Netflix, former Applause CEO Sameer Nair and Vijay Koshy of TVF. IMDb is owned by Amazon.