With
varying
levels
of
effectiveness
in
execution
and
conception,
our
storytellers
have
been
able
to
adapt
to
the
new
format
of
content
creation
—
Web
series
—
and
it’s
an
exciting
time
ahead
for
Indian
entertainment.
Arjun
Menon
looks
at
2024’s
top
Web
series
from
South
India.
Poacher
Language:
Malayalam
Cast:
Nimisha
Sajayan,
Roshan
Mathew,
Kani
Kusruthi,
Dibyendu
Bhattacharya
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video
This
multi-lingual
series,
based
on
some
real-life
events,
mostly
comprising
of
a
Malayali
cast
led
by
Nimisha
Sajayan,
Roshan
Mathew
and
Kani
Kusruthi.
It
is
an
ecological
tale
centered
around
an
ivory
trafficking
racket,
a
system
that
was
in
its
heyday
in
1990s
Kerala.
Poacher,
executive
produced
by
Alia
Bhatt,
is
a
harrowing
look
at
Operation
Shikar,
in
which
500
kilos
of
ivory
was
seized
by
the
state.
Director
Richie
Mehta
is
careful
to
populate
his
world
with
the
searing
commentary
on
the
viciousness
with
which
humans
have
exploited
nature.
Snakes
and
Ladders
Language:
Tamil
Cast:
Naveen
Chandra,
Nandaa,
Manoj
Bharathiraja
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video
Karthik
Subbaraj
put
his
big
screen
clout
behind
a
Stranger
Things
inspired
show
Snakes
and
Ladders,
about
a
bunch
of
children,
who
get
pulled
into
a
deadly
game
of
snakes
and
ladders
with
gangsters
and
the
dark
underbelly
of
their
small-time
town.
The
show
featuring
a
bunch
of
newcomers
does
not
break
any
new
ground
in
terms
of
its
narrative
ambitions
or
episodic
stakes.
There
is
a
looming
sense
of
familiarity
and
breathlessness
in
the
bizarre
problems
thrown
at
the
kids.
Seasoned
performers
like
Naveen
Chandra,
Nandaa
and
Manoj
Bharathiraja
add
some
much-needed
grounding
to
the
material.
The
children’s
fiction
realm
is
an
untapped
part
of
our
content
and
it’s
good
to
see
baby
steps
being
taken
in
that
direction,
however
flawed
it
ends
up
being.
1000
Babies
Language:
Malayalam
Cast:
Rahman,
Neena
Gupta,
Sanju
Sivram.
Where
to
watch:
Disney
+
Hotstar
A
reclusive,
aging
nurse
reveals
a
long-forgotten
secret
that
snowballs
into
a
series
of
horrifying
revelations
from
a
tragic
event
that
took
place
in
the
past.
1000
Babies,
co-written
and
directed
by
Najeem
Koya,
is
a
bold
new
step
in
shows
programmed
for
mainstream
audiences.
The
repercussions
of
a
heinous
crime
is
treated
with
some
psychological
nuance.
Rahman’s
off-putting
Malayalam
dubbing
is
one
of
the
few
distractions
in
an
otherwise
engrossing
crime
drama.
Brinda
Language:
Telugu
Cast:
Trisha
Krishnan,
Indrajith
Sukumaran,
Ravindra
Vijay
Where
to
watch:
SonyLIV
Trisha
stars
in
this
well-designed,
serial
killer
mystery<
in
a
genre
ordinarily
reserved
for
male
stars.
A
series
of
mysterious
murders
without
any
probable
suspects
drives
an
under-appreciated
rookie
cop
into
taking
up
the
investigation
into
her
own
hands,
in
a
sexist
establishment
that
wants
to
see
her
fail.
The
Telugu
show
critiques
ideas
of
religious
fundamentalism
and
the
unguided
herd
culture
surrounding
superstition
and
rituals
in
our
country.
Thalaivettiyaan
Paalayam
Language:
Tamil
Cast:
Abhishek
Kumar,
Chetan,
Devadarshini
Where
to
watch:
Amazon
Prime
Video
This
official
remake
of
the
popular
TVF
mini-series
Panchayat
is
a
less
imaginative,
faithful
adaptation
of
its
source
material.
The
show,
adapted
by
Balakumaran
Murugesan
and
directed
by
Naga,
casts
stand-up
comedian
Abhishek
Kumar
as
the
recently
graduated
city
dweller,
who
is
posted
as
a
panchayat
secretary
in
a
village
near
Tirunelveli.
The
eight-episode
show
is
faithful
to
the
original
text
to
a
fault
and
you
can
see
them
lift
character
traits
and
arcs
of
secondary
characters
with
lackluster
efficiency.
But
like
Panchayat,
the
Tamil
version
tackles
some
weighty
issues
like
caste
discrimination,
dowry
and
regressive
social
norms.
Nagendran’s
Honeymoons
Language:
Malayalam>
Cast:
Suraj
Venjaramoodu,
Kani
Kusruthi,
Shwetha
Menon,
Alexander
Prasanth
Where
to
watch:
Disney
+
Hotstar
Nithin
Ranji
Panicker,
known
for
helming
films
like
Kasaba
(2016)
and
Kaaval
(2021),
made
his
foray
into
streaming
with
the
period
comedy
Nagendran’s
Honeymoons.
The
show
dealt
with
a
village
slacker
who
ends
up
marrying
multiple
women
all
across
the
state
to
fund
his
aspirations
to
go
to
Dubai,
pinning
his
hopes
on
the
dowry
money.
Suraj
Venjaramoodu
puts
in
a
brilliant
performance
as
the
initially
reluctant
conman.
The
tagline
of
the
show
reads,
‘One
Life
Five
Wives’.
The
show
has
an
occasional
burst
of
comedy
and
interesting
half-realised
ideas,
and
may
well
be
worth
your
time.
Goli
Soda
Rising
Language:
Tamil
Cast:
Kishore,
Murugesh,
Udayaraj,
Remya
Nambeesan,
Abhirami
Where
to
watch:
Disney
+
Hotstar
Goli
Soda
Rising
is
an
official
spin-off
of
two
feature
films,
Goli
Soda
(2014)
and
Goli
Soda
2
(2018).
The
10-episode
series,
jointly
directed
by
Vijay
Milton
and
Pon
Kumaran,
is
a
continuation
of
the
events
of
the
films
and
follows
the
three
young
men
from
the
movies
who
have
moved
on
to
a
new
life,
with
new
relationships
and
a
new
business.
The
story
gets
complicated
with
the
entry
of
a
dreaded
gangster,
a
mysterious
ex-convict,
a
conman
and
an
aspiring
police
officer.
The
prolonged
running
time
has
helped
Vijay
Melton
to
allow
his
quirky
characters
to
breathe.
It’s
a
fun
crime
caper
about
a
group
of
ambitious
young
men
caught
in
a
series
of
problems
in
their
quest
for
survival.
