Indian Streaming: 'Mirzapur' Dominates as New Commissions Decline
IMDb data shows viewer interest up 17-fold, but production numbers have fallen for two consecutive years.
By Ella Cox ·
Indian streaming audiences grew by a factor of 17 over the last ten years, even as the industry shrank its output.
A new study from IMDb tracks this divergence across 110 top spots held by 64 distinct shows from 2016 to 2026. The data comes from page views of more than 250 million monthly global users. 'Mirzapur' topped the list with nine appearances, making the chart every year since its launch. 'Scam 1992' was the only title to chart five times from a single season.
Crime and thriller genres occupied 48 of the 110 positions. In recent years, horror, romance, comedy, and drama titles have gained ground. Prime Video and Amazon MX Player combined for 34 positions across 17 series. Netflix held 21 positions spread over 18 series, giving it the widest variety of distinct titles among the platforms analyzed.
YouTube served as a launchpad for 13 of the 64 charting series. Subscription services later picked up 11 of those productions. The report notes the platform allowed creators to build stories for larger audiences. The Viral Fever, or TVF, produced nine of the charting series. It also filled 17 of the top 10 slots, a share close to one in six entries.
The report identified Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma, and Sunil Grover as the most valuable performers for streaming. Their work is tied to recurring franchises. Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia, and Mona Singh ranked as the most versatile actors, each appearing in at least five series in varied roles. Multi-hyphenate artists like Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi carried established personas into the new format.
Production volume tells a different story. Commissions of new series and seasons peaked at 202 in 2023. The number dropped to 169 in 2024 and fell to 145 in 2025. The report describes this as a sign of a more selective market during business consolidation. Hindi-language shows accounted for 66% of Indian streaming originals in 2025.
Yaminie Patodia, head of IMDb India, stated the study uses data to understand how streaming reshaped audience interests. She noted that industry leaders from Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix, Applause, and TVF contributed to the analysis. IMDb, owned by Amazon, released the findings to guide creative and business decisions for the next decade.
Source: Variety
