10 ON 10 Ten iconic shows

Gurnaaz Kaur

From the days of network television to the current streaming services, small screen offers us big-time entertainment with gripping characters, fantasies, animations, sci-fi series, reality shows and a lot more. American tales, British anthologies, Indian sagas; we bring you a list of 10 most-watched series on World TV Day.

Crime drama
Breaking Bad

Original run: January 2008- September 2013

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn

Premise: This American crime drama tells the story of a terminally ill chemistry teacher, who is struggling and depressed. He teams up with a former student to produce and sell crystallised methamphetamine to secure his family’s financial future before he dies. What follows is series of murders, plane crashes and betrayals.

Richie rich
Kaun Banega Crorepati

Run: July 2000- Season 11 running

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan

Hosted by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, this game show is based on the British programme Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Common people compete for a qualification round and selected contestants get a chance to answer a series of general knowledge-based questions to win a cash prize. Every season has some celebrity participants too.

Friendly vibes
Friends

Original run: September 1994 — May 2004

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer

Premise: When six best friends hang out in New York, living beyond their means, struggling to find happiness in life, what unfolds is a show that creates history. The show is believed to have changed the face of American sitcoms. On May 6, 2004, when its finale was aired, it was watched by 52.5 million American viewers, making it the fifth most-watched series finale in TV history!

Watch out
Crime Patrol

Run: May 2003- fifth season premiered on July 15, 2019

Starring: Anup Soni, Sanjeev Tyagi, Nissar Khan, Ujjwal Chopra, Karamveer Choudhary

Premise: This crime anthology series attempts to bring stories of crime happening in India. The case presentation, however, is dramatised in a story-telling format. The series focuses on interactions with analysts, suggestions to avert crimes and makes viewers aware of the current crime scenario around them.

Fantasy world
Game of Thrones

Original Run: April 2011- May 2019

Starring: Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Premise: The American fantasy drama is known to have broken all previous records by bagging 58 Primetime Emmy Awards. The storyline is roughly based on A Song of Ice and Fire, George RR Martin’s book that has a mixture of fantasy and grimy medieval politics.

Community living
Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah

Original run: July 2008- present

Cast: Dilip Joshi, Disha Vakani, Bhavya Gandhi, Amit Bhatt and others

Premise: Based on the column Duniya Ne Undha Chashma, written by playwright-journalist Tarak Mehta for a Gujarati weekly magazine, this show depicts the everyday happenings of a housing society where residents help each other face challenges, overcome sticky situations and celebrate. It is one of the longest-running Indian TV shows with 2,863 episodes!

Comic line
The Big Bang Theory

Original run: September 2007- May 2009

Cast: Mark Cendrowski, Johnny Galecki, Jim Jarsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and others

Premise: With 279 episodes over 12 seasons, this comedy is about brilliant physicists but socially awkward Leonard and Sheldon. When a woman (Penny) becomes their neighbour, she takes it on her to show them how little they know about life outside the laboratory!

Relationship maze
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai

Original run: January 2009- present

Cast: Hina Khan, Karan Mehra, Shivangi Joshi, Mohsin Khan

Premise: This longest-running Hindi show with 3,040 episodes is a story of a couple that has had an arranged marriage; how they fall in love, face challenges and come out of them. There are misunderstandings, differences; lots of twists and turns.

Reel take
Modern Family

Original run: September 2009- September 2019

Cast: Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell and others

Premise: This one is a ‘mockumentary’ sitcom that follows the lives of three modern-day families in California. As the blended Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan (since they are related) try to deal with their kids, quirky spouses and crazy jobs, we get an honest, hilarious look into the modern family.

Game on
Bigg Boss

Original run: November 2006- present

Cast: Salman Khan

Premise: Inspired by a show titled Big Brother, which was aired in the US, this reality game show has Salman Khan as its host. The series follows a group of contestants (housemates), who live together in a custom-built house, isolated from the world, and are under constant surveillance.

Fun time

My all-time favourite is Friends. I love it because it portrays an amazing journey. Each individual is unique yet together they form a strong bond. — Aditi Govitrikar, model and actress

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