'Mirzapur' Tops a Decade of Indian Streaming, IMDb Report Finds

Viewer interest in Indian streaming series on IMDb has risen roughly 17-fold over the past decade, according to a new IMDb study, even as commissions of new shows have fallen for two consecutive years. The report, "10 Years of Streaming in India – An IMDb Report 2026," tracks the growth of Indian streaming through its most popular titles.

The study draws on page views from more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. It ranks each year's 10 biggest Indian series from 2016 to 2026 — 110 slots in total, filled by 64 different shows. It also examines how viewing habits and production patterns have shifted, including the rise of streaming franchises.

"Mirzapur" led the pack with nine appearances, having made the list every year since it launched. "Scam 1992" was the only show to chart five times off a single season.

What does a decade of data show?

Crime and thriller titles dominated, taking 48 of the 110 positions. In the later years of the decade, horror, romance, comedy and drama all made gains.

Prime Video and Amazon MX Player combined for 34 positions across 17 series, more than any other service. Netflix logged 21 positions spread over 18 series — the broadest range of distinct titles of any platform in the report.

YouTube emerged as a launchpad. Thirteen of the 64 charting series started life there, and 11 of those were later picked up by subscription services. The report credited the platform with giving a wide base of creators room to build stories that can travel to bigger audiences.

On the production side, The Viral Fever (TVF) stood out. The company was behind nine of the charting series and 17 of the Top 10 slots — close to one in every six entries. The run opened with "TVF Pitchers" in 2016 and reaches "Sapne vs Everyone" this year.

Who are the decade's standout performers?

The report named Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover as "The MVPs of Streaming," a group linked to recurring franchises and a string of hit series. Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh ranked as the most versatile performers, each appearing in at least five series across a variety of roles rather than being anchored to one franchise. The study also cited multi-hyphenates such as Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha, Barun Sobti and Karan Tacker as actors carrying an established screen persona into a new format.

What does this change for the industry?

Production volume told a more cautious story. Commissions of new series and seasons hit 202 in 2023, then slipped to 169 in 2024 and 145 in 2025. The report read this as a sign of a pickier market as the business 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.

Patodia said IMDb brought in industry leaders to weigh in on what comes next, among them Gaurav Gandhi of Prime Video, Gunjan Soni of YouTube, Monika Shergill of Netflix, former Applause CEO Sameer Nair and Vijay Koshy of TVF. "Through this report, we continue to empower professionals in India with the authoritative data and insights they rely on IMDb and IMDbpro for, and to make the creative and business decisions that will shape the next decade," Patodia said.

IMDb is owned by Amazon. The report arrives as the industry faces a widening gap between surging audience appetite and shrinking commissioning budgets — a tension that will define the next decade of Indian streaming.