Beyond Bollywood, India’s television industry continues to quietly do some of the country's most interesting work. In 2025, a handful of series cut through with stories that were bold, intimate or unsettling.
Whether its hard-hitting true crime, noir thrillers set in remote towns or sharp-edged spy games, here are seven shows of note.
1. Delhi Crime, season three (Netflix)
Anchored by Shefali Shah’s commanding turn as a police chief in the Indian capital, this gritty anthology follows a pursuit of justice that often blurs into something personal, for better and for worse. Each season draws on real-life crimes, and season three ventures into the murky world of human trafficking, as Shah’s DCP Vartika Chaturvedi and her team attempt to dismantle a violent network that lures young women with false job offers before forcing them into marriage and prostitution.
The show’s clear-eyed engagement with true crime, coupled with strong performances by Shah, Huma Qureshi and Rasika Dugal helped it impress audiences beyond borders, pushing Delhi Crime into Netflix’s Global Top 10 (non-English TV) rankings.
2. The Great Indian Kapil Show, season four (Netflix)
A long-running staple of Indian television, The Great Indian Kapil Show moved to Netflix early last year, introducing the popular comedian's blend of celebrity interviews, sketch comedy and crowd work to global audiences.
Built around topical humour, improvisation and celebrity guests, the show leans heavily on cultural familiarity and performance-led comedy. That combination helped it break into Netflix’s Global Top 10 (non-English TV) rankings, underlining how the formats, and an A-list cast of famous guests, can resonate beyond India.
Guests this year included Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Janhvi Kapoor, as well as cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and Gautam Gambhir.
3. Dabba Cartel (Netflix)
Set in the Mumbai suburb of Thane, this crime drama revolves around five middle-class women running a traditional lunch box service who become involved in a drug operation using their network. But success comes with a price as dangerous criminals, as well as law enforcement officers, get involved as the bodies pile up.
Top-notch performances by Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Anand, whose easy camaraderie is one of the highlights of the show, helped take it to Netflix's global non-English chart.
4. The Ba****ds of Bollywood (Netflix)
Marking the directorial debut of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, The Ba****ds of Bollywood largely lived up to its pre-release hype, attracting plenty of buzz and attention on arrival. A satirical, tongue-in-cheek take on the Hindi film industry, the series follows aspiring actor Aasmaan Singh (played by Lakshya Lalwani), who falls for the daughter of a powerful Bollywood figure and finds himself navigating repeated attempts to derail his career.
Packed with the familiar pleasures of a classic “masala” entertainer, the show features everything from fast-paced action, over-the-top dialogue and dramatic twists, offering a self-aware spin on the very industry it sets out to skewer – making it to Netflix's global non-English list soon after its release.
5. Pataal Lok, season two (Prime Video)
Since its debut in 2020, the neo-noir thriller Pataal Lok has earned plaudits for its gritty, unflinching examination of contemporary India’s socio-economic hierarchies, inspiring a wave of similarly dark, politically charged storytelling. Its return five years later expands that ambition, shifting the action to the politically fragile north-east, a region rarely explored with such depth in mainstream film or television.
Jaideep Ahlawat reprises his role as police inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary, joined by Ishwak Singh as his junior, as the pair investigate the disappearance of a migrant worker. Their search leads them to Nagaland, where entrenched political interests, powerful businessmen and simmering tensions threaten to unravel a hard-won peace.
When the second season was released in January, it emerged as one of Prime Video’s most-watched Indian titles, drawing strong viewership and attention beyond borders – proof that its blend of crime, politics and social commentary continues to resonate well outside its immediate setting.
6. The Family Man, season three (Prime Video)
Prime Video’s most-watched Indian show of 2025 arrived late in the year with the third season deemed one of the platform’s most successful franchises.
The Family Man centres on Manoj Bajpayee’s Srikant Tiwari, an intelligence officer who passes as an ordinary family man while secretly handling some of the country’s most sensitive counterterrorism operations. In season three, the action shifts to India’s north-east, echoing the expanded regional focus seen in Paatal Lok’s season two. There, Srikant and his team uncover a covert plan involving China’s attempts to extend its influence along the border, with tensions heightened by the presence of an international arms syndicate intent on fuelling chaos for profit.
Ahlawat also joins this season in a pivotal role, as a former drug dealer turned mercenary, a man driven solely by the mission he is paid to complete.
The Family Man season three emerged as the only Indian series to feature on Prime Video’s global viewership rankings, underscoring the franchise’s rare ability to combine local specificity with international appeal.
7. Special Ops, season two (Disney+ Hotstar)
Another espionage thriller, Special Ops follows Himmat Singh, played with steely restraint by Kay Kay Menon, a senior officer at India's top intelligence agency. Working alongside a trusted team of five agents stationed across the globe, Singh operates in the shadows to neutralise threats before they reach home.
While the first season centred on unmasking the mastermind behind a major terrorist attack, season two shifts focus to the growing threat of cyberterrorism. As the team races to prevent a large-scale digital assault, they must also confront the possibility of a mole within their own ranks, raising the stakes in a battle that pits intelligence and loyalty against the looming spectre of cyber warfare.
