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Weekends will come and go. We may try to get out of bed to make good on the plans we made during the week, but the Indian OTT shows of 2026 will pull us back under the covers like a wicked lover. We will comply—and why not, seeing as this year’s content slate comes stacked with crime juggernauts like Mirzapur and Farzi, beloved comfort watches like Panchayat, Gullak and Mismatched, a plethora of South Indian titles, historical dramas and everything in between. From Imtiaz Ali’s metropolitan romance to stories about revolutionary freedom fighters and Chandrayaan’s lunar pioneers, there’s no shortage of compelling television ahead. Here are the most-anticipated Indian OTT shows of 2026 to keep an eye out for:
Nikkhil Advani returns to one of history’s most turbulent chapters, this time turning his lens on the refugee crisis that tore through the subcontinent post-independence. Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra and Rajendra Chawla reprise their roles as Nehru, Gandhi and Patel, three men grappling with the human cost of freedom. Adapted from Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins’s definitive book, the series doesn’t shy away from the chaos that followed the celebrations.
Streaming on SonyLIV
Neeraj Pandey—who’s made espionage and crime his signature—brings us into the high-stakes world of airport smuggling. Emraan Hashmi leads as Superintendent Arjun Meena, flanked by Sharad Kelkar and Amruta Khanvilkar, in a chase that spans four countries and multiple international airports. Think cat-and-mouse games at 30,000 feet, with contraband, corruption and customs officers who mean business.
Streaming on Netflix
Chemistry or compatibility, what actually makes love last? Balaji Mohan pits these age-old questions against each other in #Love, a romance that feels refreshingly self-aware. Arjun Das plays Matthew, an investor who swears by sparks and butterflies, while Aishwarya Lekshmi’s Tara has built a dating app that runs on algorithms and compatibility scores. When they challenge each other to prove their theories right, the results are equal parts charming and chaotic.
Streaming on Netflix
The chilling thriller that left everyone with questions is back, and this time, the conspiracy goes deeper. Rahman returns as Inspector Aji Kurian, racing against time to expose the full, catastrophic truth behind the mass infanticide case that shook viewers in season 1. Following a dying nurse’s confession and her son Bibin’s twisted path of identity-swapping vengeance, season 2 expands the nightmare as powerful, corrupt figures attempt to bury secrets that could destroy a thousand lives.
Streaming on JioHotstar
Picture 1980s South India, but with a twist. In the fictional city of Pernuru, female gangsters rule with an iron fist until a mysterious outsider disrupts their carefully maintained order. Keerthy Suresh, Radhika Apte and Tanvi Azmi anchor this Yash Raj Films production that reimagines power, sisterhood and what happens when tradition meets threat.
Streaming on Netflix
Drawing unmistakable inspiration from Kerala’s chilling Jolly Joseph cyanide murders (the ‘Koodathayi’ case that shocked the nation in 2019), Anali follows two women in a remote village confronting a series of disturbing deaths that unravel long-buried secrets. Leona Lishoy and Nikhila Vimal lead this character-driven thriller.
Streaming on JioHotstar
Bhumi Pednekar makes her OTT debut as DCP Rita Ferreira in an adaptation of Vish Dhamija’s bestselling novel, Bhendi Bazaar. This psychological crime thriller follows Mumbai’s newly appointed DCP as she hunts a cold-blooded serial killer while her own life threatens to unravel. Haunted by her past and navigating the city’s moral grey zones, Rita faces off against her own complexity and conflicts. Directed by Amrit Raj Gupta, the show features Aditya Rawal and Samara Tijori in key roles.
Streaming on Prime Video
Farzi season 2 will pick up from the cliffhanger, with Sunny (Shahid Kapoor) and Firoz (Bhuvan Arora) now fully exposed to Michael’s (Vijay Sethupathi) pursuit after he’s seen their faces. Meanwhile, Sunny’s war with Mansoor (Kay Kay Menon) escalates following the destruction of Madhav’s printing press. To top it off, Megha (Raashii Khanna) closes in on Sunny’s true identity as the counterfeit artist. The sequel was confirmed in 2023 and is expected to land this year.
Streaming on Prime Video
What happens when a legendary boxing coach is forced back into the ring, not to fight, but to reconcile with the sons he’s spent years avoiding? Pulkit Samrat makes his OTT debut alongside Divyendu Sharma and Suvinder Vicky in a story where Olympic gold is at stake, but family wounds run deeper. Karan Anshuman and Karmanya Ahuja have crafted something that blends sports drama with crime thriller, all wrapped in the brutal honesty of estranged relationships.
Streaming on Netflix
The Mishras are back, and honestly, that’s all we needed to hear. Created by Shreyansh Pandey and produced by TVF, this slice-of-life series has become India’s most beloved family drama. Season 5 continues following Santosh (Jameel Khan) and Shanti (Geetanjali Kulkarni) Mishra, along with their sons Annu (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) and Aman (Harsh Mayar), as they navigate the beautifully mundane realities of middle-class life. The previous season left us with hints of Annu’s evolving feelings for Dr. Preeti and Aman potentially confessing his love for Aditi.
Streaming on SonyLIV
The doctors of RK Multispeciality Hospital are back for another round, and this time they’re bringing deeper emotions and messier complications. For Heartbeat’s third outing, Anumol returns as Dr. Radhi, Deepa Balu as Dr. Rina and Karthik Kumar as Dr. Vijay. After two seasons of complex relationships, gripping cases and the kind of workplace chaos that only a hospital can deliver, season 3 of the Tamil medical drama promises fresh challenges and heightened conflicts.
Streaming on JioHotstar
Vijay Sethupathi reunites with director M. Manikandan for a gritty rural action saga told through multiple perspectives. The series follows a man whose identity shifts depending on who’s telling his story, transforming him into myth, monster or miracle. Milind Soman co-stars in this character-driven thriller produced by 7Cs Entertainment, with music by Rajesh Murugesan. Set against a village backdrop filled with festivals and conflict, it marks Sethupathi’s return to streaming.
Streaming on JioHotstar
After two critically acclaimed seasons, Ahammed Khabeer’s investigative thriller returns with another complex case rooted in real-world crime patterns. Aju Varghese and Lal reprise their roles as Inspectors Manoj Sreedharan and Kurian Avaran, joined by Arjun Radhakrishnan and a new ensemble as they navigate another meticulously crafted investigation that challenges the state’s police machinery.
Streaming on JioHotstar
The crime thriller returns with a new case revolving around a woman who, separated from her husband, is found brutally murdered in her brother’s home. Barun Sobti reprises his role as Inspector Garundi, now investigating alongside his tough boss Dhanwant Kaur, played by Mona Singh in her first cop role. As they unravel the murder, their personal lives threaten to collapse alongside the investigation.
Streaming on Netflix
R. Madhavan leads an ensemble that includes Nimisha Sajayan, Gautham Karthik, Gulshan Devaiah and Abhishek Banerjee in a gangster saga where family loyalty is currency and succession means survival. Charukesh Sekar directs this Tamil noir about empires built on blood and the price of keeping them standing.
Streaming on Netflix
A kabaddi star’s life spirals into chaos when he is wrongfully framed for a crime, forcing him into the gritty underworld of gangsters and survival. The film stars Kathir and Divya Bharathi, with Sathya, Poornima Ravi, Bose Venkat and Kaali Venkat rounding out the ensemble. An intense crime thriller, Lingam blends sports rivalry with raw emotion, tracking one man’s dramatic transformation as his world collapses around him.
Streaming on JioHotstar
The anthology that made us rethink desire, power and societal expectations returns for a third chapter. Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Amar Kaushik are rumoured to be directing, with Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee possibly in the mix. Four stories, four perspectives, all unapologetically exploring what we want versus what we're allowed to want.
Streaming on Netflix
Patparganj District Court is back in session, and the chaos is delightfully legal. Ravi Kishan returns as VD Tyagi, with Bhojpuri superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav and Kusha Kapila joining the eccentric roster. Sameer Saxena’s courtroom comedy thrives on the absurd, the bureaucratic and the unexpectedly human moments that happen when justice meets everyday India.
Streaming on Netflix
The fourth outing of Mirzapur was confirmed in 2024 after season 3’s launch-weekend success. Story-wise, season 4 is set up to deal with the post-finale shakeout with Kaleen Bhaiya’s (Pankaj Tripathi) return to the centre of power after he shoots Sharad (Anjumm Shharma), the political chessboard around Madhuri (Isha Talwar) and Guddu’s (Ali Fazal) escape and reunion with Golu (Shweta Tripathi Sharma), which resets the Purvanchal war into a more volatile three-way conflict of crime, state power and revenge.
Streaming on Prime Video
Dimple and Rishi are saying goodbye. Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf return for the final chapter of India’s first Netflix Original to reach four seasons, a milestone that speaks to how much we’ve rooted for this couple. Based on Sandhya Menon’s novel, the show has always been about navigating love when life keeps throwing curveballs. Expect tears, laughter and the kind of closure that feels earned.
Streaming on Netflix
Imtiaz Ali describes this series as a “modern story with a vintage heart, a fairy tale set against the chaos of metropolitan life”. With Aditi Rao Hydari, Avinash Tiwari and Arjun Rampal leading, and Arif Ali (who gave us She) directing, this romance promises the kind of enchantment Ali has always been known for—love that feels both timeless and achingly contemporary.
Streaming on Netflix
The Kargil War, told through the eyes of the Indian Air Force. Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma and Prajakta Koli star in this high-altitude mission drama that brings 1999’s Operation Safed Sagar to life. Filmed on actual air bases with IAF coordination, Oni Sen’s series is a tribute to the pilots who risked everything in impossible conditions—and a reminder of the human cost of war.
Streaming on Netflix
Panchayat season 5 is set to continue the Phulera story in the aftermath of Season 4’s village-election upheaval, resetting the power dynamics around the panchayat and pulling Sachivji (Jitendra Kumar) back into local politics, loyalties and everyday crises that suddenly carry bigger consequences. The returning cast also features Raghubir Yadav (Pradhanji) and Neena Gupta (Manju Devi) up front. The wider ensemble is expected to include Faisal Malik (Prahlad), Chandan Roy (Vikas) and Sanvikaa (Rinki).
Streaming on Prime Video
Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga is the next Scam instalment after Harshad Mehta and Abdul Karim Telgi. It traces Sahara founder Subrata Roy’s rise from modest beginnings to building a sprawling empire and the 2010-era crackdown that spiralled into courtroom battles, investor-fraud allegations and eventual imprisonment, turning boardroom bravado into a high-stakes fight for survival. Hansal Mehta returns to direct.
Streaming on SonyLIV
This thriller focuses on a depressed 17-year-old who’s haunted by recurring nightmares of a green-eyed stalker, until the same man turns up in her home as a charming paying guest. The narrative unfolds as he wins over her parents and isolates her as she tries to expose who he really is before a late twist reframes the ‘nightmare’ entirely. The series features Meena and Vineeth alongside Sanjana Dipu and Hakkim Shah.
Streaming on JioHotstar
The Viral Fever’s Space Gen – Chandrayaan is an upcoming series that chronicles India’s Chandrayaan lunar programme, following the evolution of the missions and spotlighting the people behind the milestones, pressures, setbacks and breakthroughs that powered the country’s journey to the moon (including the post-Chandrayaan-3 national moment).
Streaming on JioHotstar
This original Telugu series is about a virgin teacher tasked with teaching sex education in a deeply conservative village. Yes, it’s as awkward and hilarious as it sounds. Sundeep Kishan, Mithila Palkar and Brahmanandam bring Mallik Ram’s comedy to life in the fictional Maakhipur, where tradition and modernity collide in the most uncomfortable ways possible.
Streaming on Netflix
Good Wife season 2 will continue Tarunika’s (Priyamani) reinvention as a working lawyer after the scandal that upended her family. The promo for season 2 teases a more personal crossroads, hinting that Tarunika must make one pivotal choice while “two relationships are at stake.” The show will also feature Sampath Raj, Aari Arujunan, Mekha Rajan and Amrutha Srinivasan.
Streaming on JioHotstar
A period action-drama, The Revolutionaries dramatises the lives of young Indian freedom fighters who believed armed resistance and underground organising were indispensable to ending British rule. The plot tracks their covert networks, disguises, missions and the personal costs of choosing rebellion over safety. It is inspired by Sanjeev Sanyal’s non-fiction book Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom. Created and directed by Nikkhil Advani, the series stars Bhuvan Bam, Rohit Saraf, Pratibha Ranta, Gurfateh Pirzada, Jason Shah and Pratik Motwani.
Streaming on Prime Video
Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar return to fictional Morpur, where a crumbling palace-turned-luxury-B&B becomes the backdrop for romance, ambition and second chances. Rangita and Ishita Pritish Nandy promise season 2 will be bigger, bolder and even more fabulous, which, considering season 1’s scale, is saying something.
Streaming on Netflix
Varam is a supernatural crime drama about Raju, a slum dweller whose poverty-stricken life flips overnight when he gains the power to know the news before it happens. He starts leveraging future knowledge to climb fast through a world of ambition, greed and shifting loyalties, only to realise that every miracle carries a cost and fate doesn’t smile forever. Vishwadev Rachakonda leads the series as Raju, with Shivathmika Rajashekar as the female lead, and Srinivas Avasarala also part of the principal cast.
Streaming on JioHotstar
This upcoming crime-thriller follows Vikram (Nikhil Maliyakkal), a sharp-witted police officer who’s reinstated to head a newly revived Special Investigation Team and handed high-profile cases. But there’s a catch: he’s hiding his identity from the woman he loves, who hates the police, while still carrying the weight of an old crime he claims he didn’t commit. As the SIT closes in on the truth, Vikram has to balance duty, love and a past that refuses to stay buried.
Streaming on JioHotstar
The Telugu adaptation of Sushmita Sen’s Aarya features Kajal Aggarwal in the lead. After her husband’s death exposes a hidden drug empire operating through their fisheries and poppy farms, Vishakha, once a sheltered homemaker, is dragged into a brutal criminal world where she must outsmart rivals, the police and treacherous ‘allies’ to keep her children safe, transforming from vulnerable to fearsome as survival turns her into the family’s last line of defence.
Streaming on JioHotstar
Source - Vogue