Aryan Khan’s debut series beats OTT biggies to become IMDb’s Most Popular Indian Series of 2025: ‘Just the beginning’
In a year packed with heavyweights such as Manoj Bajpayee’s The Family Man, Kay Kay Menon’s Special Ops and Jitendra Kumar’s Panchayat, it’s Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan who has delivered the biggest surprise. His directorial debut series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, has clinched the title of IMDb’s Most Popular Indian Series of 2025.
Reacting to the recognition, Aryan admitted the series was crafted to “shake the room” and grab attention, hinting that this is only the beginning of what he plans to bring to the screen.
Aryan’s series gets the top spot
On Wednesday, IMDb announced the 10 series that were most popular with IMDb customers worldwide in 2025. After Aryan’s web series, Zahan Kapoor’s Black Warrant took the second spot, followed by Jaideep Ahlawat’s Paatal Lok Season 2, Jitendra’s Panchayat Season 4 and Vaani Kapoor’s Mandala Murders.
At number six on the list is Khauf, followed by Kay Kay’s Special Ops Season 2 in seventh place. Khakee: The Bengal Chapter secures the eighth spot, while Manoj Bajpayee’s The Family Man Season 3 ranks ninth. Rounding off the list is Pankaj Tripathi’s Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, which takes the tenth position.
Among all series released in India between January 1 and November 30, 2025, with an average IMDb user rating of 6 or above, these 10 titles emerged as the most consistently popular, based on page views from IMDb’s 250 million–plus monthly global visitors. Interestingly, seven of the 10 titles in the series list this year are crime thrillers, and six of them are either new seasons or extensions of existing franchises.
Aryan Khan reacts
Shah Rukh’s son Aryan is humbled by the recognition, and confessed that he wanted the show to be a celebration of the “madness, the magic, the mischief, and the raw ambition that fuels this industry”.
“Seeing The Ba***ds of Bollywood as the most popular web series on IMDb feels exactly like what we wanted to do — shake the room and own the conversation, to make something that defines an entire genre in the modern era; a pop cultural phenomenon,” Aryan said in a statement.
He added, “I wanted this show to be a celebration of the madness, the magic, the mischief, and the raw ambition that fuels this industry. No soft edges, no pretending, we told the story the way it deserved to be told, and audiences across the world showed up for it in a massive way.”
Aryan noted that the social media chatter surrounding the show is a clear sign it has become part of the cultural conversation.
“The memes, the fan edits, the arguments, the obsession — that’s a show becoming part of culture, not just a weekend watch. I am grateful to everyone who clicked play, stayed with it, and made it explode the way it has. The joy this has brought the audience is why I do what I do, bringing stories that are straight from the heart. And this is just the beginning,” Aryan shared.
Aryan walked into showbiz as a director on September 18 with the Netflix web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood. The satirical comedy, starring Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Sahher Bambba, and Bobby Deol in lead roles, received good reviews from the audience. A satire on the Hindi film industry, the show explores the power struggles within Bollywood and the challenges faced by outsiders trying to remain relevant. It also features Anya Singh, Mona Singh and Manoj Pahwa in pivotal parts.
