Rise of the Indian TV Series
Anand S
If you look at the IMDb titles with a 9+ rating and 50K votes this decade, there are only 4 entries. Every single one of them is an Indian TV series.
| Title | Votes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Aspirants | 316,390 | 9.1 |
| Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story | 166,400 | 9.2 |
| Sandeep Bhaiya | 76,586 | 9.1 |
| Sapne Vs Everyone | 74,342 | 9.3 |
This is a new phenomenon. Last decade, there was only one Indian TV series in the same list: TVF Pitchers.
| Title | Votes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Game of Thrones | 2,464,912 | 9.2 |
| Chernobyl | 966,693 | 9.3 |
| Attack on Titan | 634,731 | 9.1 |
| Planet Earth II | 168,129 | 9.4 |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | 135,242 | 9.2 |
| TVF Pitchers | 76,241 | 9.1 |
| The Chosen | 61,014 | 9.1 |
| Our Planet | 57,815 | 9.2 |
| Blue Planet II | 52,847 | 9.3 |
... and none ever before.
Four out of these five are by TFV: The Viral Fever, which seems to have cracked the code for high-quality TV series. They're highly relatable to the digital natives, who are very IMDb rating-sensitive and the fans flock to rate them highly.
The growth of the Indian OTT market and high-speed Internet (the Jio effect) has also increased access dramatically. COVID lockdowns helped, too, I guess. Plus, these are available for free on YouTube - no HBO/Hotstar subscription required.
This is the decade of Indian TV series, clearly. (And I haven't seen a single one!)