The 36 Best Indian Originals On Netflix And Prime

India’s boom in streaming has turned Netflix and Prime Video into hothouses for audacious storytelling, helping to shift the creative center of Indian cinema from Mumbai to New Delhi with nervy crime dramas and tender slice-of-life comedies. Based on critical acclaim, accolades and measurable audience momentum, this expertly curated list zeroes in on 36 noteworthy Indian original series across both services — not just shows that started the right conversations but those that also kept viewers pressing “next episode.”

How We Chose the Standouts Across Netflix and Prime Video

The selections consider cultural impact, symmetry across seasons and craft — writing, performances, direction — as well as audience signals. That has included nods from the International Emmys and Filmfare OTT Awards, weekly placement on the Netflix global Top 10 for non-English TV, and repeated appearances in Ormax Media’s popularity charts. Sector studies by FICCI-EY and KPMG, meanwhile, also noted how local originals are now the source of time spent and subscriber stickiness in India, a trend reflected in the range of genres below.

Essential Crime and Thrillers from India’s Streaming Boom

• Sacred Games (Netflix): neo-noir milestone that established the template for prestige Indian streaming.
• Paatal Lok (Prime Video): unsparing police procedural that also functions as a class-caste autopsy.
• Mirzapur (Prime Video): blood-soaked, compulsive saga of power in Purvanchal that transformed ensemble players into household names.
• Delhi Crime (Netflix): International Emmy winner that re-enacts high-stakes policing with bruising realism.
• Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (Netflix): propulsive cat-and-mouse from IPS officer Amit Lodha’s account.
• Dahaad (Prime Video): a methodical serial-killer hunt fronted by a quietly fierce Sonakshi Sinha.
• Scoop (Netflix): Hansal Mehta’s newsroom-and-underworld tangle, the cautionary tale of trial by media.
• Breathe and Breathe: Into the Shadows (Prime Video): moral corrosion meets parental panic.
• CAT (Netflix): Punjab-set infiltration drama sliced in halves by a gloomy Randeep Hooda.
• Aranyak (Netflix): misty Himalayan noir that combines small-town politics with folktale creep.

Dramas and Social Sagas Defining Modern Indian Streaming

• The Family Man (Prime Video): spycraft meets domestic comedy, anchored by Manoj Bajpayee’s deadpan heroics on one of India’s most universally beloved series according to Ormax Media.
• Jubilee (Prime Video): a lush period piece reimagining the birth of Hindi cinema.
• Mumbai Diaries (Prime Video): emergency-room adrenaline set against a city under siege.
• Bombay Begums (Netflix): boardroom ambition and personal compromise unfold through the lives of five women.
• Taj Mahal 1989 (Netflix): tender, talky vignettes about love, politics and poetry in Lucknow.
• Trial by Fire (Netflix): a devastating, award-winning chronicle of resilience in the aftermath when an urban tragedy entered Netflix’s global non-English Top 10.
• A Suitable Boy (Netflix): Mira Nair’s sumptuous literary adaptation that mixes romance and nation-building.
• Guilty Minds (Prime Video): a grounded legal drama in which courtroom theatrics are a reflection of modern India.
• Mai: A Mother’s Rage (Netflix): a grief-stricken homemaker is ensnared by a dark web of crime.

Comedy and Slice-of-Life Gems for Easy Weekend Binges

• Panchayat (Prime Video): sharp, affectionate rural satire that topped numerous year-end lists and scooped major OTT honours.
• Little Things (Netflix): a very modern urban love story that unfolds through little habits and big heart.
• Decoupled (Netflix): a biting, polarizing comedy of marriage as everyday decorum becomes the battleground.
• Pushpavalli (Prime Video): darkly funny, disarmingly honest about obsession and self-sabotage.
• Happy Family: Conditions Apply (Prime Video): multi-generational Mumbai chaos with crack comic timing.
• Masaba Masaba (Netflix): meta-showbiz charm wrapped in a mother-daughter wrapper.
• Mind the Malhotras (Prime Video): therapy-fueled marital farce that’s also a little stopper of upper-middle-class anxieties.

Romance, Youth, and Reality Shows That Sparked Conversation

• Made in Heaven (Prime Video): a sumptuous wedding-planner series that challenges patriarchy, sexuality and class with its decor.
• Bandish Bandits (Prime Video): classical ragas vs. pop in an epic love story with anthemic songs that never leave your head.
• Mismatched (Netflix): campus crushes and coding bootcamps that are fluent in Gen Z.
• Four More Shots Please (Prime Video): friendship-first dramedy that mainstreamed female desire on streaming.
• Indian Matchmaking (Netflix): a buzzy, conversation-starting reality series deciphering the modern arranged-marriage marketplace.

Docuseries Worth Your Time, From Crime to Sports

• Daughters of Destiny (Netflix): years-long immersion at Shanti Bhavan that suggests education can recast destiny.
• House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (Netflix): a chilling, empathetic look at a case that gripped the nation.
• Bad Boy Billionaires: India (Netflix): forensic detail on the corporate rise-and-fall stories of tycoons.
• The Big Day (Netflix): high-gloss Indian weddings as a lens on aspiration and identity.
• Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers (Prime Video): inside the bruising world of kabaddi, from locker room nerves to championship stakes.

Where to Start Tonight: Quick Picks for Every Mood

For a single-season knockout, start with Delhi Crime or Trial by Fire; for long-form immersion, The Family Man, Mirzapur and Panchayat are shows that hit sustained highs across seasons. Prefer something lighter? Little Things and Masaba Masaba are the feel-good weekend binges we need. With originals we can’t stop watching and that have crashed into Netflix’s global Top 10, as well as Prime Video India’s charts, these 36 series make the case for why the country’s streaming era isn’t just prolific — it’s world class.