The “50 Most Popular Indian Web Series {Five (P5)/10 to 1}” of the all-time list is shared here. Now let us start with the reverse countdown of these series released in recent years.
After glancing through the said list on the IMDb website, our Focus Magazine team realized that with a few exceptions (the Indian series that we have yet to watch), we have seen most of the web series of India. We have decided, hence, in the coming weeks, we shall try to share an article about the web series that we have seen and liked or loved. Finally, we conclude the reverse countdown for India’s 50 most popular web series of all time and reach its end from the 10 to 1 rank.
#10 Popular Indian Web Series
Paatal Lok
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
A down-and-out cop lands the case of a lifetime when four suspects are nabbed in the assassination attempt of a prime-time journalist. The case turns out to be a devious maze where nothing is what it looks like. The pursuit of it leads him to the dark netherworld – the ‘Paatal Lok’, and to shocking discoveries in the past of the four suspects.
Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi, Ishwak Singh, etc.
Creator: Sudip Sharma
Season & Episodes: S1 & E9 (2020)
Network: Prime Video
FM article: Paatal Lok: Takes A Bold Look At Indian Society
Panchayat
#9 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Comedy, Drama
It captures the journey of an engineering graduate Abhishek, who for lack of a better job option joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh.
Cast: Jitendra Kumar, Raghubir Yadav, Chandan Roy, etc.
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E8 (2020); S2 & E8 (2022)
Network: Prime Video
Kota Factory
#8 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Comedy, Drama
In a city of coaching centres known to train India’s finest collegiate minds, an earnest but unexceptional student and his friends navigate campus life.
Cast: Mayur More, Jitendra Kumar, Ranjan Raj, etc.
Creator: Saurabh Khanna
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E5 (2019); S2 & E5 (2021)
Network: Netflix
Breathe
#7 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
It explores the lives of ordinary men faced with extraordinary circumstances. Kabir (Sadh), a brilliant but non-conventional officer of the Crime Branch, puts the pieces together of seemingly unconnected deaths of organ donors that lead up to an unlikely suspect – the affable Danny (Madhavan). Kabir will not stop till he cracks the case and delivers justice.
Cast: Madhavan, Amit Sadh, Sapna Pabbi, etc.
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E8 (2018)
Network: Prime Video
Criminal Justice
#6 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Sex, drugs and gruesome murder. An edgy one-night stand turns into a nightmare for Aditya, when he wakes up with blood on his hands. The evidence is stacked against him, but he doesn’t remember the grisly crime. Is he guilty or not?
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi, Rucha Inamdar, etc.
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E10 (2019)
Network: Disney Hotstar
5. Aspirants
#5 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Drama
It is the story of 3 friends – Abhilash, SK, and Guri. The story takes place in the past and the present where the past captures the struggle and the drama behind the making of UPSC aspirants in Old Rajinder Nagar of Delhi, while the present talks about the aftermath.
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Shivankit Singh Parihar, Abhilash Thapliyal, etc.
Creators: Arunabh Kumar, Shreyansh Pandey
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E5 (2021)
Network: TVF’s Aspirants / Prime Video
The Family Man
#4 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
It is the story of a middle-class man who works for a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low-paying job.
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Priyamani, etc.
Creators: Krishna D.K., Raj Nidimoru
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E10 (2019); S2 & E9 (2021)
Network: Prime Video
FM article: The Family Man: Chaotic World Of An Indian Spy
Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story
#3 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Crime, Drama, Biography
It is about the major scandals that shook India and are remembered as some of the most notorious crimes in the country. Set in the 1980s and 90’s Bombay, Scam 1992 follows the life of Harshad Mehta – the infamous “Bachchan of BSE”. It was a rags-to-riches story till financial journalist Sucheta Dalal exposed Harshad as the man behind India’s biggest financial scam.
Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Hemant Kher, etc.
Season & Episodes: S1 & E10 (2020)
Network: SonyLIV
FM Article: Watch Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story In 2023
Mirzapur
#2 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
The iron-fisted Akhandanand Tripathi is a millionaire carpet exporter and the mafia don of Mirzapur. His son, Munna, is an unworthy heir who will stop at nothing to inherit his father’s legacy. An incident at a wedding forces him to cross paths with Ramakant Pandit, an upstanding lawyer, and his sons, Guddu and Bablu. It snowballs into a game of ambition, power and greed in this lawless city.
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, etc.
Creators: Puneet Krishna, Karan Anshuman
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E9 (2018); S2 & E10 (2020)
Network: Prime Video
FM Article: Mirzapur: Brutal Battle To Control Rein Of Power
Sacred Games
#1 Popular Indian Web Series
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
A link in their pasts leads an honest cop to a fugitive gang boss, whose cryptic warning spurs the officer on a quest to save Mumbai from the cataclysm.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Neeraj Kabi, etc.
Creator: Varun Grover
Seasons & Episodes: S1 & E8 (2018); S2 & E8 (2019)
Network: Netflix
FM Article:-Sacred Games (S1 & S2): Good Show About Changing Hindu-Muslim Relationship In India
The creation and production of the web series in India is more of a recent phenomenon. With more and more people turning towards streaming services for entertainment, we are going to see much more robust growth in this market.
First/FM article: India’s 50 Most Popular Web Series Of All Time-1 (from 50 to 41)
Second/FM article: India’s 50 Most Popular Web Series Of All Time-2 (from 40 to 31)
Third/FM article: India’s 50 Most Popular Web Series Of All Time-3 (from 30 to 21)
Fourth/FM article: India’s 50 Most Popular Web Series Of All Time-4 (from 20 to 11)
Featured & Other Images: Canva.com & Respective Networks.