IMDb Report Tracks 17-Fold Rise in Indian Series Interest as Orders Slide

Viewer interest in Indian series on IMDb has climbed roughly 17-fold over the past decade, while the number of new series and seasons commissioned in the country fell for a second consecutive year, according to a study released Monday.

The report, titled "10 Years of Streaming in India: An IMDb Report 2026," draws on page views from IMDb's base of more than 250 million monthly visitors worldwide. It lists the ten most popular Indian series for each year from 2016 through 2026, filling 110 slots across 64 different shows.

Crime and thriller titles claimed 48 of those 110 positions. Horror, romance, comedy and drama gained ground in the later years of the period covered.

"Mirzapur" appeared on the list nine times, placing every year since its launch. "Scam 1992" charted five times from a single season. Among streaming services, Prime Video and Amazon MX Player combined for 34 positions across 17 series. Netflix logged 21 positions across 18 series, the widest spread of distinct titles among the platforms examined.

The report also tracks where shows began. Thirteen of the 64 charting series started on YouTube, and 11 of those were later picked up by subscription services. On the production side, The Viral Fever was behind nine of the charting series and 17 of the top-ten slots, a run that began with "TVF Pitchers" in 2016 and continued with "Sapne vs Everyone" this year.

Commissioning volume moved in the opposite direction. New series and seasons commissioned in India reached 202 in 2023, then fell to 169 in 2024 and 145 in 2025. The report characterized the drop as a sign of a more selective market as the business consolidates. Hindi-language shows accounted for 66% of Indian streaming originals in 2025.

IMDb named Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover as its "MVPs of Streaming." Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh were identified as the most versatile performers, each appearing in at least five series across a range of roles.

"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.

Patodia said the company also consulted industry figures 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.