The Great Indian Kapil Show: From Streamer Darling to Bumpy Ride?

When The Great Indian Kapil Show debuted on Netflix in March 2024, it quickly became a household name and made history—it was the first Indian Netflix series to trend globally for a whole month. Hosted by Kapil Sharma with his signature camaraderie (Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, Krushna Abhishek et al.), its airport-lounge set and A-list guests fueled widespread buzz. But, as Netflix’s tenure continued, cracks began to show—in Season 3 especially.

Early Momentum, Swift Decline

Season 3 Premiere (June 21, 2025)
The opening episode, headlined by Salman Khan promoting Sikandar, earned 1.6 million views and 1.9 million hours watched. Impressive, but still shy of Season 1’s Ranbir Kapoor premiere that generated 2.4 million views.
Weeks 2 & 3
Week 2’s line‑up featured the Metro… In Dino cast, but Netflix only reported cumulative views—2 million across two episodes. By Week 3, with cricket stars contributing (Gautam Gambhir, Rishabh Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal), the three‑episode block plateaued at 1.2 million.
The Aftermath
Episodes 4 and 5 slipped entirely off Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non‑English TV Shows chart. Those slots usually demand at least ~1.4 million views over two weeks—so the fall was significant

History Repeats: Past Seasons Showed the Same Pattern

This pattern isn’t unprecedented. Both previous seasons started strong before audience drop-off:

Season 2: Jumped out to 4.2 million viewing hours early on, but by Episode 4 (Kareena & Karisma focal), cumulative views dropped to 900k.
Season 1: Similarly began well but ended up with ~1.2 million views across four episodes (with 3.9 million hours logged).

So this cycle of hype → fall seems baked into the show's lifecycle.

What’s Going On?

Several factors could be at play:

Feverish First Week Buzz
Viewers often tune in for big-name guests, then drop off if subsequent episodes lack the same draw.
Netflix’s Global Chart Pressure
Compared to other non-English series with bigger audiences worldwide, Kapil’s show must clear a high bar—~1.4 million views in two weeks—to stay featured globally.
Content Fatigue?
While beloved in India, the formula might be losing novelty. Netflix India still calls it “most viewed,” but global traction is slipping

Will Season 3 Recover?

There’s still hope—Season 3 rolls on with Episode 6 (airing July 26), featuring fresh faces like Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha. Plus, content creators—Raj Shamani, Saurabh Dwivedi, Kamiya Jani, Samdish Bhatia—are on deck in upcoming episodes.

But unless this season regains momentum, Netflix may rethink long‑term investment in Kapil’s digital venture.

Final Verdict

Domestically, The Great Indian Kapil Show remains a cultural fixture, trending and widely discussed.
Globally, the drop in viewership and chart presence shows its plateau—perhaps even decline.
For Netflix, this performance raises questions: adapt content strategy or bank on crackling guest lineups?

The Great Indian Kapil Show: From Streamer Darling to Bumpy Ride?