In 2024, audiences saw the return of a few beloved series and experienced some classics added to this. In the film world, viewers saw the debuts of some promising newcomers and left with a better understanding of human relationships with complex and compelling stories. Here are some of the top-rated series and films of the past year.

Top-rated OTT series of 2024

Panchayat: The Viral Fever rural comedy, starring Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, and Rajpal Yadav, has been winning hearts since its premiere in 2020. The ordinary but often hilarious and heartwarming antics of the village panchayat have captivated audiences every season. The series has a rating of 9.0 on IMDb.

Mirzapur: After years of fans asking about the crime drama on Amazon Prime Video, the third season premiered. But that’s not all; the heartland gangster series rated 8.4 on IMDb is getting a rare upgrade. Starring Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, and Shweta Tripathi, the story will now be transferred to the big screen. It will be released in 2026.

Gyaarah Gyaarah: This striking Indian adaptation of the Korean drama Signal has received strong word-of-mouth since its release. Starring Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal, and Dhairya Karwa, this time-travel thriller has an IMDb rating of 8.2. The Zee5 web series is co-produced by Karan Johar and Oscar winner Guneet Monga.

Taaza Khabar: YouTuber Bhuvan Bam made his OTT debut with this Disney+ Hotstar series. He plays a character named Vasya, who lives in a chawl and gets a boon of a lifetime. Starring Shriya Pilgaonkar, Deven Bhojani, and Prathamesh Parab, Taaza Khazab has a rating of 8.1 on IMDb.

Maamla Legal Hai: The Netflix ensemble comedy takes place at the fictional District Court Patparganj in Delhi. Created by Sameer Saxena, the series stars Ravi Kishan, Nidhi Bisht, Yashpal Sharma, Naila Grrewal and Anant V Joshi. It has an IMDb rating of 8.0.

Top-rated OTT films of 2024

Amar Singh Chamkila: Imitiaz Ali’s biopic on the slain Punjabi folk artist reunited him with composer AR Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil. Starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, the Netflix film, rated 7.8 on IMDb, was exhilarating and tragic to watch.

Bhakshak: Bhumi Pednekar leads this chilling crime thriller directed by Pulkit. She plays a journalist who uncovers a series of abuses against young girls in a shelter home. Based on the Muzaffarpur shelter case, the film has an IMDb rating of 7.2.

Girls Will Be Girls: After winning awards at global festivals including Sundance, Shuchi Talati’s directorial debut finally made its OTT premiere on December 18. The beautiful coming-of-age stars Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, and Kesav Binoy Kiron and has a rating of 7.1 on IMDb.

Berlin: One of the year’s nail-biting thrillers with an IMDb rating of 6.9 comes from Atul Sabharwal. The period thriller is set in New Delhi of 1993, when a sign language teacher, Pushkin (Aparshakti Khurana), is roped in by an intelligence officer to interrogate a deaf mute suspect named Ashok Kumar (Ishwak Singh). Each twist and turn will have you gasping out loud.

Maharaj: Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan made an intriguing Bollywood debut in Siddharth P. Malhotra’s Maharaj. The period film revolves around the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862; Jaideep Ahlawat plays the title character, while Junaid is the determined lawyer who exposes his frauds. Produced by Yash Raj Films, Maharaj has an IMDb rating of 6.5.