Mirzapur, Scam 1992 Dominate IMDb’s Top 10 Most Popular Indian Series List

The past decade of streaming in India showed audiences leaning towards the crime and thriller genres. Several shows, such as the gangster drama Mirzapur and the biopic Scam 1992 on the late Harshad Mehta, were titles that kept showing up again and again, while the top shows from 2016 to 2026 showed the change in viewership patterns as well. Here’s what the new study titled 10 Years of Streaming in India – An IMDb Report 2026 has to say; here’s the full list of Indian web series that captured audiences’ attention for each respective year.

According to IMDb, the top 10 list for each year is determined by the page views of each show on their website, beginning in 2016 and ending in 2026. The report also states that the list for this year is until October 15, 2026. Some shows like Mirzapur, and Scam 1992 show up several times long after their release; new seasons of certain shows also boosted certain titles. These were the web series that topped every year in the past decade from 64 overall titles that made the final list.

2016 – TVF Pitchers

2017 – Inside Edge

2018 – Sacred Games

2019 – Sacred Games

2020 – Scam 1992

2021 – Aspirants

2022 – Criminal Justice

2023 – Farzi

2024 – Mirzapur

2025 – The Ba***ds of Bollywood

2026 – Pritam and Pedro

In the beginning of the decade, YouTube shows such as Permanent Roommates and Tripling and TV shows like Kuchh Rang Pyaar Ke Aise Bhi were popular. However, in the past few years, OTT platforms have dominated. Amazon Prime Video’s Panchayat, JioHotstar’s Special Ops and Netflix’s Delhi Crime are examples of past shows that continue to find audiences long after their seasons are released.

The IMDb report also contained some interesting tidbits about what remained popular with audiences. Prime Video’s Mirzapur made the list nine times since its release in 2018 with three seasons. This year, the web series transitioned to the big screen with the blockbuster prequel,  which brought back several returning cast members. The limited series Scam 1992 starring Pratik Gandhi showed up five times on the list.

Netflix had the most number of series at 18, with Prime Video and Amazon MX Player coming in second with 17 series. YouTube had 13 titles on the list that later went on to be picked up OTT platforms. Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover were named as “The MVPs of Streaming” in the report, while Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh showed up the most on the decade-long list with at least five series each. Finally, the report also noted that production of new series has been on the decline since 2023; only 145 shows were released last year compared to 202 in 2023.