THE BREAKOUT SERIES: STRANGER THINGS
This eight-episode show on Netflix about a group of kids and a government conspiracy was a big talking point. A show where adults — even Winona Ryder! — were trumped by a bunch of kids, with Eleven, the girl with telekinetic powers (played by Millie Bobby Brown) leading the charge. The show pays homage to everything we’ve loved about the ’80s— hairstyles to clothes to films. Then there was that theme music and title font. Stranger Things has left us wanting more. And, of course, we want justice for Barb!
THE BREATHLESS WATCH: THE NIGHT OF
A miniseries about a young man of Pakistani origin who finds himself charged with the murder of a woman he spent a night with put the thrill back on TV. A show that challenged the viewer at every turn even as we waited with bated breath to know what would happen next. With Riz Ahmed stealing the show as Nasir “Naz” Khan and ably supported by John Turrturo, The Night Of became an instant classic. The genre and template may have been there-done that, but this one broke new ground in both plot and performance.
THE COMEBACK: KAPIL SHARMA
After a shock exit from Comedy Nights with Kapil late last year, Kapil Sharma made a thumping comeback with The Kapil Sharma Show, shifting from Colors to Sony. While the format of the laugh riot stayed the same, Kapil’s Bittu became Kappu and Sunil Grover’s Gutthi gave way to the crazily funny Dr Mashoor Gulati, even as Navjot Singh Sidhu remained a LOL fixture on the couch. With The Kapil Sharma Show raking in viewership, Sony has just renewed Kapil’s contract for another year with a fee of — wait for it! — Rs 110 crore.
THE WTF TOPPER: NAAGIN
The TRP topper of Indian TV in 2016 wasn’t a saas-bahu soap or a voyeuristic reality show. Naagin — the story of a shape-shifting serpent on Colors — drew in viewership by the hordes, zooming to the number one slot and remaining there for the whole of Season I. With small-screen fave Mouni Roy playing Shivaanya the naagin, the makers cashed in on the craze by airing Season 2 just four months after the end of the first. The making of hiss-tory?
THE BIG DEBUT: THE GRAND TOUR
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May stepped on the pedal, going from Top Gear to The Grand Tour. They made it bigger on both scale and script. The motoring show, currently available on Amazon Prime, broke all records on debut, its first episode becoming Amazon Video’s most watched premiere episode. With the three traversing continents — America to Africa, Asia to Australia — the show was more illegally downloaded than a certain Game of Thrones and promises to get in the moolah. It better, given its budget is a mere £4.5million per episode!
THE SIZZLE: KOFFEE WITH KARAN
Karan Johar returned with Season 5 of Koffee with Karan, plonking Bollywood’s most famous faces on the couch and grilling them on matters of head and heart (and southward ho). While Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh making it to the couch together was a surprise (with Arjun Kapoor and not Deepika Padukone in the middle), Aamir Khan let go of his usually reticent self to make it a fun episode. The one we’ve liked the best so far this season? KJo’s close friend and “once-upon-a-time crush” Twinkle Khanna making her Koffee debut, husband Akshay Kumar for company. From trolling Karan to being her usual outspoken self, Twinkle shone the brightest.
THE STANDOUT CHARACTER: PUNISHER (DAREDEVIL)
A loving family man, a decorated war vet and a vigilante who slips over the fine line into a brutal and merciless killer — Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle was the adaptation the Punisher deserved. There is something visceral about Bernthal’s performance... not just the rage and blood and gore... but also the moments of sadness and grief he has to process. When you start rooting for a man who kills mercilessly, even if it’s bad people, you know the actor’s doing something right. No wonder he is now getting his own show!
THE SCENE STEALER: LYANNA MORMONT
In a Game of Thrones season where Jon Snow came back from the dead, Hodor died, Cersei killed all her haters with one blow, Tyrion teamed up with Daenerys and the Battle of the Bastards ended with Ramsay Bolton meeting his just end, it was a 10-year-old that we remember the most. The head of House Mormont might look like a child but Lyanna Mormont (played by Bella Ramsey) puts Jon in his place with a few words, convinces a bunch of hard men to accept him as the King in the North and rides into battle like a boss. Put HER on the Iron Throne... please!
THE TALKING POINT: THE CROWN
One would imagine the monarch of Great Britain leads a charmed life. The Crown makes us realise nothing could be further from the truth, especially when it’s a female royal wearing the crown. A jealous husband, a more popular sister, a shrewd Prime Minister and a Cabinet that wants to make every decision for her — this Netflix original brings to life the reign of Queen Elizabeth II rather royally, made at an eye-watering cost of £100 million. No wonder we can’t wait for Season 2.
THE GROUNDBREAKER: NETFLIX
Bye, bye piracy! NetFlix launched in India this year and changed the way we watch TV. While we rewatched old faves like House of Cards, Black Mirror and Orange is the New Black, NetFlix also gave us powerful new shows like Narcos and Stranger Things. Its Marvel adaptations are even better than what we see on satellite television. There was a Bengali film launch on Netflix with Q’s Brahman Naman. And now Netflix is home to Shah Rukh Khan, with the Bolly Badshah’s films being made available on the platform.We love the binge-watching experience (legally), even if not all of us care to “Netflix and chill”.
