From Panchayat To Poacher: Here Are Top Indian OTT Shows Of 2024

The hunger for riveting stories on over-the-top platforms was fed by an array of dazzling shows in 2024 as audiences were enthralled by compelling stories and captivating performances.

The 10 Indian shows listed below were among the top OTT releases that captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of critics and audiences this year. Panchayat was elected the sarpanch of television streaming, followed by Mirazpur, Heeramandi, Kota Factory and many others.

Panchayat

Panchayat garnered 28.2 million viewers on Amazon Prime (Photo Source: Amazon Website)

Panchayat garnered great viewership on Amazon Prime as people tuned in to catch the third season of the beloved comedy series.

Headlined by Jitendra Kumar, the show delves into the humorous nuances of rural governance as viewers connected with the witty dialogue and the spirited situational comedy.

The third season covered panchayat elections and offered an unflinching and sincere take on the chaos, competition, underhanded one-upmanship and aggression involved in contesting elections focusing more deeply on the drama aspect of the comedy drama.

This show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar made its decadent debut on Netflix with 20.3 million views (Photo Source: Netflix Website)

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, which made its decadent debut on Netflix, gave audiences a dramatised glimpse into the lives of the courtesans who lived in the red light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore during the 1940s against the backdrop of the Indian independence struggle .

The classical melodrama was brought to life by impassioned performances from Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Rao Hydari, whose 'walk' as the character Bibbojaan reached virality among Indian netizens.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali played to his strengths by infusing his story with glamourous costuming, cinematography and set design.

The historical series is available to watch on Netflix.

Mirzapur

Mirzapur returned as the most watched show in Indian on Amazon Prime garnering 4.3 million views (Photo Source: Amazon Website)

Mirzapur returned as the most watched show in India on Amazon Prime. Following on from the first two seasons, the third season received mixed reactions from audiences who felt underwhelmed by the latest outing of ego clashes and opportunistic backstabbing as the crime families of Mirazpur attempt to plot, scheme and kill each other over real and imagined slights and a lust for power and control.

Audiences missed the presence of Pankaj Tripathi's character who had become the face of the series.

This show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Killer Soup

Killer Soup took many bold narrative risks which cemented itself as a must watch (Image source: Netflix India/X)

Killer Soup took many bold narrative risks, which cemented itself as a must watch on Netflix.

Led by the acting performances of artistes like Konkana Sen Sharma and Manoj Bajpayee, this neo noire black comedy attempts to balance clever plotting with sharp character work, at times biting off more than it can chew.

The series, directed and co-written by Abhishek Chaubey, was inspired by a real-life murder case in Telangana where a woman and her paramour plot to kill her husband in order to live together, the narrative veers off from there as shenanigans ensue when the homicidal couple scramble to cover their tracks.

This show is available to watch on Netflix.

Kota Factory

The third series of Kota Factory follows a group of aspiring students who have joined the gold rush (Photo Source: Netflix Website)

The third series of Kota Factory follows a group of aspiring students who have joined the gold rush of the neck-to-neck competition that arises from preparatory study for the Joint Entrance Examination.

The examination is seen by many Indians as means of achieving academic prestige and lasting stability in adult life if one secures a cushy ranking.

Jeetu Bhaiya, played by Jitendra Kumar, tries to shepherd a group of students through the challenges and adversities that befall them in their attempt to get into the coveted Indian Institute Of Technology institutions.

This show is available to watch on Netflix.

Poacher

Poacher debuted to highly critical acclaim (Photo Source: Amazon Website)

Poacher debuted to high critical acclaim as viewers and critics appreciated the light that the miniseries shed on poaching rings and the carnage and destruction that is wrought on the country's ecology and fauna due to the activities of poachers.

It follows Mala Jogi, a Kerala-based forest officer played by Nimisha Sajayan who goes out of her way to fight against the system that feeds highly lucrative elephant poaching cartels.

The lush cinematography aids an ambitious story inspired by true events, exploring the demand and supply of ivory, the human-animal conflicts that arise from it and the reckless expansion of human civilisation at the expense of the very ecology that defines the planet.

This show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Call Me Bae

Call Me Bae topped viewership charts on Amazon Prime (Photo Source: Amazon Prime Website)

Call Me Bae topped viewership charts on Amazon Prime, audiences were thoroughly entertained by Ananya Pandey's Bella "Bae" Choudhary, a rich socialite.

Choudhary dramatically loses her wealth and privilege and finds her calling in Mumbai's news media industry as she discovers her own talents and uses them to make a name for herself on her own merits, thus achieving a personal sense of accomplishment and security.

The show's ritzy and carefree attitude proved to be infectious as it became a hit with viewers.

This show is available to watch on Netflix.

Bandish Bandits

Bandish Bandits returned for its second season in 2024 (Photo Source: Amazon Website)

Bandish Bandits returned for its second season in 2024 with Shreya Chaudhary and Ritwik Bhoumik returning as Tamanna and Radhe, two musicians with drastically different artistic backgrounds navigating their careers and while navigating their relationship.

The second season sees them butt heads in more ways than one as they compete against one another in a prestigious music competition. The characters struggle with legacy, artistic integrity and changing times amid glamorous musical numbers.

This show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Gyaarah Gyaarah

Gyaraah Gyaraah debuted on ZEE5 as its most watched series (Photo Source: ZEE5 Website)

Gyaraah Gyaraah debuted on ZEE5 as its most watched series. Adapted from the Korean drama Signal, the show follows two police officers from vastly different timelines that solve crimes in the respective eras through communication via a walkie-talkie. The separate timelines connect for a brief minute at precisely 11:11 p.m.

The time hopping crime thriller had mixed reviews from critics who praised the premise but found the execution to be lacking in compelling tension.

This show is available to watch on ZEE5.

Mismatched

Mismatched debuted its third season on Dec. 13 just in time to bookend the year (Photo Source: Netflix Website)

Mismatched, which debuted its third season on Dec. 13, was beloved by audiences for its relatable and light-hearted approach to the romantic comedy genre. It follows the joys, trials and tribulations of Dimple and Rishi as they navigate their romantic relationship despite the physical distance between them.

The third season received mixed reviews from critics who appreciated the addition of subplots attempting to explore real-life technological developments like artificial intelligence and virtual reality but were unsatisfied with the stagnancy of the relationship between the two main leads.

This show is available to watch on Netflix.