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A few decades before the OTT shows era, most of us used to enjoy TV shows, and serials (today also some still get telecast) which used to go on for months and years. TV serials used to be based on fiction, history, family stories, a daily slice of life, horror, suspense, comedy & more. Creating TV serials was a great effort, involving huge money depending on the scale, time-consuming and long commitments.
TV serials became legendary and also gave good actors who became famous and a household name. The audience and large chunk being housewives and elders used to be engrossed in these serials and used to adjust the household chores to carve uninterrupted viewing time for such TV serials.
These serials used to have the power to keep glued to the screen for days, months and years. Today when I look back I remember some of these super famous TV serials from those days were Buniyaad, Hum Log, Karamchand, Malgudi Days, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Tara, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kaun Banega Crorepati.
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Who expected with the growth of the digital medium, smart medium, TV shows will also take the new avatar of Series and OTT shows will be part of this entertainment content-consuming ecosystem.
Web series have evolved over the years and now are produced in abundance with large budgets allocated and good talent emerging and creating a name for themselves. Many movie stars big, and small have also ventured into OTT shows and all are trying to create their mark and earn views producers of the series are taking the opportunity to rake in good moolah with the success of each season.
Netflix opened the gates for successful content to be made into web series with the super successful Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and also tried their hand in the Indian genre with Sacred Games becoming successful. Amazon Prime added cherry on the top to the OTT shows business with Mirzapur.
Web series require decent investments for a rich experience; require the artist to stay invested in terms of time and commitment. For a successful web series to develop an engaging storyline we also require good production value and a good director with a vision and skill of storytelling.
The creation of an OTT show is a task more difficult than movie storytelling as you need to keep the audience engaged for a longer time than in movies. The result of movies is 2 to 3 hours but a web series has many episodes with each episode ranging from 30 to 60 minutes and in a total of eight to ten episodes. So, one is looking for audience engagement in anywhere between 6 to 8 hours of total watch time. I, being someone who has consumed TV serials decades back, am also a part of the current audience that is heavily into good web series and has lapped up many seasons after season.
Webseries spanning over multiple seasons have a much more difficult job in hand as the entire flow needs to be chalked out and presented in a very interesting manner so that the audience is ready and looks forward to the next season. The first season needs to create the necessary hype or the cliffhanger for the audience to lap up the following seasons.
Today, I would pick up multi-seasons web series that have managed to hold my interest for more than 1 season and I have to give it to the makers, directors and the talented cast for making all those binge-hours worthwhile every minute. When many movie sequels lose their plot after part/chapter one, these listed web series have managed to be season’ed well and leave a good flavour in your entertainment quotient. They made me wait for the next season and some concluded well, some kept asking for more and I am waiting for what’s next in some of these shows.
The Family Man 1 and 2 (Amazon Prime Video):
The story of Manoj Bajpayee‘s Shrikant Tiwari, a member of the TASC (Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell) and his associates to stop terror attacks in Season 1 was so nice that we waited for the 2nd season where the LTTE terror link was established. This fast-paced spy drama with the personal family issues of Shrikant was well balanced by directors Raj and DK and the team. This surely has been one of the best IPs for Amazon Prime video. Season 2 teased Season 3 and we are waiting.
Special Ops 1, 1.5 (Disney+ Hotstar):
A Neeraj Pandey project will be filled with a high level of ‘desh bhakti’ and interesting twists. Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon) the main protagonist keeps you engaged with his style of spy acumen and humour. Season 1 and Season 1.5 were hit with the viewers and hoping so will season 2.
Mirzapur 1 and 2 (Amazon Prime Video):
Guns, bullets, swords, knives, dons, Politics, and rustic locations all were in abundance in Mirzapur. If you enjoy gore, blood, s*x scenes, and swear words then Mirzapur 1 and 2 will be enjoyable. Pankaj Tripathi, Divyendu Sharma, Vijay Varma, and Ali Faizal are all actors par excellence.
Undekhi 1 and 2 (Sony LIV):
Another OTT delights with superb actors. “Inspector nahin, I am DSP” This line by Dibyendu Bhattacharya as DSP Barun Gosh is remarkable. Harsh Chhaya, Aanchal Singh and Surya Sharma lift this Manali-set drama to a high-level trance. Ending season 2 on a high note this crime thriller family drama is a definite watch.
Rocket Boys 1 and 2 (Sony LIV):
Never could I have imagined Jim Sarabh could play Dr Homi Babha and look Homi more than Babha himself. A dream casting and biography to be known about the two legends Homi Babha and Vikram Sarabhai (greatly played by Ishwak Singh) should be on your watch list with your children. With a good IMDB rating, both seasons should be on your weekend list if you have not watched it yet.
Panchayat 1 and 2 (Amazon Prime Video):
I know no one reading this article could have missed watching Panchayat 1 and 2. A breezy family comedy entertainer with Season 1 having more comedy and Season 2 with a sad ending. TVF productions (The Viral Fever) rarely go wrong in storytelling and this has cemented their position in this truth.
The perfect casting and feel-good storyline make this highly-rated show worth your every hour. After giving all the laughs the sudden grief in the end does make your eyes moist.
Maharani 1 and 2 (Sony LIV):
Sony LIV has produced some good OTT products like Scam 1992, Rocket Boys, and Undekhi and they keep the count good with Maharani. A political drama set in Bihar this one’s for you if you truly enjoy a good political story. Huma Qureshi, Soham Shah, Amit Sial and Pramod Pathak, all shine in this drama around money, position, threats, cheating, deceit, caste and religion. Both seasons have been narrated well and let’s see how Maharani takes her revenge in the upcoming Season 3.
City of Dreams 1,2,3 (Disney+ Hotstar):
Yes, I am a lover of political dramas and have a deep interest in national and International politics also. When a 3-season perfect political drama is created like City of Dreams it has to come in this list. Priya Bapat as Poornima Gaikwad is a performance that converted me into her big fan. With a cast like Atul Kulkarni, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Sushant Singh to perfect roles given to each, I enjoyed this drama so much. Before this, I didn’t know Eijaz Khan was such a brilliant actor.
Aspirations, family enmity, more foes than friends are what politics is all about. It also shows how to be able to do good you need to bring out the evil in you to eliminate the bad.
I know many must have not seen this or heard as I felt this was kept a low profile with low promotions and I don’t know why. Readers, I do recommend you to binge this one and this OTT show proves how you create interest developed and maintained for all the 3 seasons. Not even one episode will disappoint you
Gullak 1,2,3 (Sony LIV):
It can’t happen that I do not reserve one of my most favourites to be mentioned at the end. Yes, you end your supper with a nice dessert.
While writing this, I just wanted to check the IMDB rating of Gullak and it was rated 9+. Not a surprise that it could withstand 3 seasons and still be a winner. A pure, clean family drama of a middle-class family makes you relate to it and feel how this has happened around you if you are from one such middle-class home.
Jameel Khan and Geetanjali Kulkarni do perfectly portray how family-loving parents will be and no they haven’t acted but they have lived it. Some may feel it’s a little slow but you can’t complain when you are experiencing the Mishra family, their love, tantrums, and emotions. As mentioned, TVF productions rarely fail and they have struck the right emotional chord in all the 3 seasons.
As I said earlier, making a movie is for a maximum 3-hour product but creating a 2 or 3-season series without losing track is a difficult job. Hat’s off to all brilliant creators of multiple-season dramas to keep us entertained and suck up our hours, and days to binge them.
I am looking forward to some shows which are just done with 1 season. The high they gave me in the first has made me equally excited for next season like Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (Netflix), Dahaad (Amazon Prime) and the best one starring Randeep Hooda Inspector Avinash (Jio Cinema).
There are a few which lost the plot as they entered the next Season like Sacred Games, Aarya, Criminal Justice, Hostages, and Illegal. As it is said a master storyteller and magician is surely required to create a perfect entertainer.
Thank you for reading and start bingeing.
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