10 Hindi Web Series That Released During the Lockdown

The best Hindi web series that released during the 2020 lockdown include Paatal Lok, Panchayat, Special Ops, Four More Shots Please! Season 2, Betaal, Hasmukh, State of Siege: 26/11, Hundred, The Raikar Case and Illegal. Several of them, such as Panchayat and Paatal Lok, have since grown into long-running franchises.

When cinemas shut in March 2020, streaming platforms became the main source of new Hindi drama. This updated guide lists the ten shows from our original 2020 article, with where they first streamed and what has happened to each one since. Note that Disney+ Hotstar is now JioHotstar, and Voot’s library moved to JioCinema before that service was folded into JioHotstar. More streaming guides are in our entertainment section.

Hindi web series released during the lockdown: status in 2026

Series	First released on	Where it stands now
Paatal Lok	Amazon Prime Video, May 2020	Season 2 released January 2025
Special Ops	Hotstar, March 2020	Special Ops 1.5 (2021), Season 2 (July 2025)
Panchayat	Amazon Prime Video, April 2020	Four seasons out; Season 5 announced for 2026
Four More Shots Please!	Amazon Prime Video, Season 2 in April 2020	Final Season 4 released December 2025
Betaal	Netflix, May 2020	Single season
Hasmukh	Netflix, April 2020	Single season
State of Siege: 26/11	ZEE5, March 2020	Followed by the film State of Siege: Temple Attack
Hundred	Hotstar, April 2020	Single season
The Raikar Case	Voot Select, 2020	Voot has closed; library moved to JioCinema
Illegal	Voot Select, 2020	Returned for later seasons

1. Paatal Lok

Created by Sudip Sharma and produced by Anushka Sharma’s Clean Slate Filmz, Paatal Lok premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 15 May 2020. Jaideep Ahlawat plays Hathi Ram Chaudhary, a Delhi police inspector investigating four suspects arrested for a plot to kill a TV journalist. Neeraj Kabi, Abhishek Banerjee, Gul Panag and Ishwak Singh co-star.

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Season 2 arrived on 17 January 2025, taking Hathi Ram to Nagaland, with Tillotama Shome and Nagesh Kukunoor joining the cast.

2. Special Ops

Neeraj Pandey’s spy thriller premiered on Hotstar in March 2020. Kay Kay Menon plays Himmat Singh, a R&AW officer convinced that one mastermind is behind several terror attacks in India. Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak and Saiyami Kher co-star.

A four-episode prequel, Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story, followed in November 2021, and Season 2 released in July 2025 with Prakash Raj and Tahir Raj Bhasin joining the cast.

3. Panchayat

TVF’s Panchayat premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 3 April 2020. Jitendra Kumar plays Abhishek Tripathi, an engineering graduate who takes a job as secretary of a gram panchayat office in Phulera, a village in Uttar Pradesh. Raghubir Yadav and Neena Gupta play the village pradhan’s family.

The show became one of India’s most loved web series. Season 4 released in June 2025, and Prime Video and TVF have announced Season 5 for 2026.

4. The Raikar Case

This family murder mystery, written by Bijesh Jayarajan and Anaitha Nair, follows the Raikar family as secrets surface after a sudden death in the house. Ashwini Bhave, Kunal Karan Kapoor, Reena Wadhwa and Lalit Prabhakar are part of the cast. It was released on Voot Select. Voot has since closed, so search for the show on JioHotstar.

5. State of Siege: 26/11

ZEE5’s eight-part series dramatises the November 2008 Mumbai attacks from the point of view of the NSG commandos who ended the siege. It is based on Sandeep Unnithan’s book Black Tornado. Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Vivek Dahiya and Mukul Dev star.

A follow-up film, State of Siege: Temple Attack, about the 2002 Akshardham attack, later released on ZEE5.

6. Hundred

This action comedy on Hotstar pairs Lara Dutta, as an undercover police officer, with Rinku Rajguru, as a young woman told she has 100 days to live. The two team up for a series of risky missions, with Karan Wahi in a key role.

7. Illegal

Illegal is a courtroom drama about an idealistic young lawyer, played by Neha Sharma, who is pulled between her principles and a powerful law firm run by a veteran played by Piyush Mishra. Akshay Oberoi, Satyadeep Misra and Kubbra Sait co-star. It first streamed on Voot Select and returned for later seasons.

8. Four More Shots Please! Season 2

The second season of this Amazon Original arrived on 17 April 2020. It follows four friends in Mumbai, played by Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J and Maanvi Gagroo, as they deal with careers, relationships and friendship.

Season 3 followed in October 2022, and the fourth and final season released on 19 December 2025.

9. Betaal

Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment with Blumhouse Television, Betaal premiered on Netflix on 24 May 2020. Created by Patrick Graham, it follows a counter-insurgency squad, led by Vineet Kumar Singh’s character, who face undead East India Company soldiers in a remote village. It has four episodes and drew mixed to negative reviews.

10. Hasmukh

This Netflix dark comedy stars Vir Das as a timid small-town comedian who discovers he is only funny after he has killed someone. Ranvir Shorey plays his manager, with Ravi Kishan and Amrita Bagchi in supporting roles. It released in April 2020 as a single season.

Why lockdown releases still matter

These shows reached a huge home audience at a time when people had more time to watch. Panchayat and Paatal Lok in particular helped prove that Hindi series with small-town settings and slow-burn storytelling could find a mass audience. For more on how OTT apps have changed in India, see our technology section.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Panchayat, Wikipedia: Paatal Lok, Wikipedia: Special Ops, Wikipedia: Four More Shots Please!