Ten years ago, most of us didn’t even know what a web series was. Now “10 Years of Streaming in India – An IMDb Report 2026” has put real numbers on how far things have come. The headline: interest in Indian shows on IMDb has gone up about 17 times in a decade. The twist: the number of new shows being made has actually dropped two years in a row.
Where do these numbers come from? Page views. IMDb gets over 250 million visitors a month, and it simply counted what they clicked on. Then it pulled out the Top 10 Indian shows for every year, 2016 to 2026. So 110 spots in all, and just 64 shows managed to grab them.
Mirzapur is the king of the decade
No surprise here. Mirzapur made the yearly Top 10 nine times, every single year since it launched. Scam 1992 did something stranger: it charted five times off just one season. People clearly kept going back to it, or finding it late. The Family Man is also among the big names of the decade.
Crime and thrillers rule overall, with 48 of the 110 spots. In recent years though, horror, romance, comedy and drama have been catching up, so it’s not just gangsters and guns anymore.
Which OTT platform won?
Prime Video and Amazon MX Player together took 34 spots across 17 series, more than anyone else. Netflix had 21 spots, but across 18 different shows, which is the widest spread of titles. (Worth knowing: IMDb is owned by Amazon.)
YouTube and TVF: the quiet hitmakers
This was the part I found most interesting. Thirteen of the 64 charting shows started on YouTube, and 11 of those were later picked up by paid streaming services. The Viral Fever (TVF) made nine of the charting series and grabbed 17 Top 10 spots, close to one in six. That run started with TVF Pitchers in 2016 and goes all the way to Sapne vs Everyone this year.
The “MVPs of streaming”
IMDb named Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Jitendra Kumar, Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover as the MVPs of streaming. Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia and Mona Singh were called the most versatile, each showing up in at least five series in very different roles. Film stars like Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi and Samantha got a mention too, for bringing their big-screen pull to shows.
Fewer new shows, pickier platforms
Here’s the less fun part. New series and seasons hit 202 in 2023, then fell to 169 in 2024 and 145 in 2025. The report reads it as a pickier market as the business consolidates. Hindi shows made up 66% of Indian streaming originals in 2025. For viewers, that probably means fewer random releases and more bets on proven franchises. For new creators, YouTube looks like the side door that still works.