The show stealers

Sheetal

In the era of streaming platforms and on-demand content, binge-watching has become a ubiquitous cultural phenomenon. As digital mediums continue to attract audiences from around the world, we bring the top trending shows on OTT. Brace yourself; there’s lot to catch up on the entertainment world and it’s just the first half of the year, 2023.

The right heat

With the month of June, it isn’t just the weather but Indian crime shows also turned up the heat quotient. Simultaneously arrived the Netflix series, Scoop (IMDb rating7.7/10), and the Disney Hotstar series, School of Lies (5.5/10).

For Hansal Mehta, director of Scoop, the world of print media, journalism and news did it this time. Again derived from a real story, like his earlier Scam 1992, Karishma Tanna plays real-life crime reporter Jigna Vora on screen. The series is mostly scripted from latter’s autobiographical memoir, Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison. Besides Tanna, the series has Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Harman Baweja and Prosenjit Chatterjee feature in key roles.

Truth wins

Talking of series inspired from the reality, there’s Trial By Fire (7.8/10), an Indian Hindi-language crime drama mini-series created by Prashant Nair, Kevin Luperchio, and Randeep Jha. It is based on the true story of the Uphaar fire incident, as told in the book Trial by Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy. It gives an inside view of the lives lost and pain it caused to the families. This series currently holds a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes rating. It is available on Netflix. The ensemble cast includes Abhay Deol, Ashish Vidyarthi, Anupam Kher, Rajshri Deshpande, Rajesh Tailang, Ratna Pathak, Shilpa Shukla and Shardul Bharadwaj.

Best of the best

Pataal Lok-fame director Avinash Arun’s latest series, School of Lies, also garnered much attention. Though its IMDb rating was not so impressive, it was hailed by critics as well as binge-watching audiences. It revolves around a 12-year old boy who goes missing from a boarding school. It makes for an engaging experience with brilliantly orchestrated web of lies, trauma and secrets.

Back in time

Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee (8.5/10) had left audiences asking for more. It made Chandigarh born actors Aparshakti Khurana and Wamiqa Gabbi shine.

Controversial but adorable

Another Netflix series, Rana Naidu (7.2/10), has been in the top 10 since its release two months back. And official adaptation of the 2013 crime series, Ray Donovanit, is created and directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Verma. It stars Venkatesh Daggubati, Rana Daggubati, Suchitra Pillai, Gaurav Chopra, and Surveen Chawla. Many objected to its language, forcing Netflix to remove the Telugu version of the series.

Winsome combination

The Family Man director jodi Raj & DK when got Shahid Kapoor onboard for a web series, it was already anticipated to be a hit. Titled Farzi (8.4/10), it’s a fictional story on counterfeit notes. The series has been renewed for a second season. It also stars Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, and Bhuvan Arora. Also veteran actor Amol Palekar made a comeback with this one.

From foreign land

Class (6.2/10) is a Hindi-language crime drama thriller based on the Spanish series, Elite. Set in Hampton International, a fictional exclusive high school in Delhi, it revolves around three working-class children, and their wealthy classmates. Netflix confirmed the series’ renewal for a second season.

Seasonal game

Mostly when a popular series progresses to multiple seasons, the quality of content gets compromised. But for Asur (9.2/10) and Rocket Boys (8.9/10) this doesn’t hold true. Both the series released their second season on Jio Cinema and SonyLIV, respectively. If one is based on the lives of two biggest scientists of India, the other is a fictional story laced with mythology.

Another series that delivers a second season is The Night Manager (7.6/10). This Sandeep Modi-directorial Part 2 will stream on June 30. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Le Carre. It has Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sobhita Dhulipala.

(Inputs by Siya Chawla)