Divya Pal
Divya Pal is Entertainment Editor at BollywoodLife, Zee Media. Besides reviewing both films and series, she also loves to report on gender and culture. She can be reached at divyapal2013 on X.
The entertainment industry has seen a drastic change in the recent years. Earlier, viewers were happy to watch a movie or show just once. However, today, viewers are keen on more than a one-time experience. They are happy as they enjoy following stories and characters over a longer period. This is why they often get emotionally connected to them. With the sudden spurt in streaming platforms and binge-watching culture, people end up spending more time watching content that continues across multiple seasons or films. Several popular franchises, spin-offs, and long-running series continue to woo loyal fan bases because viewers like returning to familiar worlds and characters they already love. Due to this, repeat-viewing content has become more crucial than ever. Instead of creating content that is watched just once, creators and studios are focusing on building stories that keep audiences engaged for years. Today, success is not based on just opening-day numbers or first-week views. The real winners are the shows and franchises that keep the viewers interested in knowing more about and discussing at length about.
And if there is one recent example that perfectly puts forth this shift, it is the massive success of Undekhi. Created by Banijay Asia, the gritty thriller has evolved into one of India’s most successful long-running OTT franchises. Spanning four successful seasons, Undekhi has proved that audiences are willing to return to the same universe repeatedly when the storytelling remains engaging, layered, and emotionally immersive. Fans are no longer just watching a show; they are investing in its world.
But Undekhi is not the only example proving that the era of one-time viewing is fading away. Under Endemol Shine India, some of India’s biggest reality properties have transformed into cultural phenomena. Bigg Boss, for instance, has expanded across seven languages and 69 seasons, becoming one of the country’s most successful television franchises. The show’s longevity itself proves how strongly audiences crave familiarity and emotional connection with recurring formats. Similarly, the company has also backed acclaimed scripted titles like Aarya starring Sushmita Sen, which successfully ran for three seasons, alongside powerful shows like Trial by Fire, Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, and Bombay Begums.
Meanwhile, Banijay Asia has continuously expanded the scripted OTT landscape with successful adaptations and franchise-driven storytelling. Shows like The Night Manager starring Aditya Roy Kapur, The Trial headlined by Kajol, and the hugely successful Campus Beats, which continues to return with newer seasons, have all reinforced the audience demand for familiar worlds and recurring narratives.
Even on the unscripted front, Banijay Asia has introduced newer formats like The 50 and the social experiment reality series Rise & Fall. The success and expansion of these formats further highlight how viewers today want content ecosystems they can revisit, reconnect with, and emotionally invest in over time.
