GECs
All new shows on Star this year
MUMBAI: Star India is all set to flag off the new year with a host of new shows on its English entertainment channels, Star World and Star World Premiere.
Starting this month, Star World Premiere, will air the all-new American cyber-themed action-adventure series, Intelligence, which stars Josh Holloway as Gabriel Vaughn, a hi-tech intelligence operative with a supercomputer microchip lodged in his brain.
A new-age super soldier, Gabriel can hack into any data centre and access critical intelligence to protect the US from its enemies. Intelligence also stars Marg Helgenberger as head of the government cyber security agency supporting Gabriel and Meghan Ory as Secret Service Agent.
Come February, the channel is expected to telecast a new comedy-drama titled Rake, which sees Greg Kinnear as criminal defence lawyer Keegan Deane whose personal problems threaten to turn his entire world upside down.
Apart from the new shows, the latest season of American Horror Story: Coven will also air on Star World Premiere. Having debuted in October last year, the anthology series features different characters and locations, including a haunted house, a mental asylum and a witch coven. The upcoming season revolves round themes such as oppression, witchcraft and voodoo. With actors the likes of Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange, the series has won both critical and commercial acclaim.
Not to be left behind, Star World will telecast a new comedy-drama Bunheads starring Sutton Foster as Michelle Simms, a Las Vegas showgirl who gets married on impulse, only to end up in small town California, where she teaches ballet alongside her mother-in-law, Fanny Flowers, reprised by Kelly Bishop.
Also airing on the channel will be the first and second seasons of Suburgatory, a series that follows the life of George Altman (Jeremy Sisto), a single dad from New York who moves upstate to the suburbs in search of a better life for his daughter Tessa (Jane Levy). This apart, Star World will telecast new seasons of old favourites like Melissa & Joey starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence as the main protagonists.
Exults Star India general manager English channels Kevin Vaz: “We’ve got some great shows scheduled to air in the New Year. We will be showing new seasons of a few old favorites as well as some brand new shows. 2014 is going to see some excellent television content from the Star Network.”
While Star World has been around for long now, Star World Premiere, which was launched only in September last year, has already taken TV viewers by storm with its dynamic content.
The channel is a pioneering initiative by the Star Network to present brand new content to Indian audiences with the latest episodes of their favorite shows broadcasting simultaneously in the US. So, viewers can watch all the popular shows as they air in the west, without having to wait for the latest episodes.
GECs
Zee tops fiction charts across six languages with strong show lineup
Broadcaster secures nearly half of top 10 spots as fiction strategy pays off
MUMBAI: Fiction is proving to be Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s winning script. The broadcaster has emerged as the dominant force in television fiction, occupying an average of five spots in the top 10 charts across six major language markets.
Across Hindi (Pay), Marathi, Bangla, Odia, Kannada and Telugu general entertainment channels, the company commands a 48 per cent share of the top 10 fiction rankings, according to BARC data for weeks four to seven of 2026 among urban audiences aged 15 and above.
The strong showing reflects the company’s renewed focus on storytelling driven by cultural insight and local relevance. With family viewing still centred around prime time, Zee continues to attract more than 20 per cent viewership share across genres in this high engagement window, outperforming competitors.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, chief content officer Raghavendra Hunsur, said the results underline the effectiveness of the company’s sharply defined multilingual content strategy.
“The achievement is a firm testament to our content strategy across languages, which is clearly resonating with viewers,” Hunsur said. “Fiction shows remain the heart of entertainment. We will continue building both fiction and non fiction offerings that are authentic, engaging and rooted in local storytelling.”
The company’s Hindi flagship channel Zee TV has placed four relatively new launches among the top 10 shows in the Hindi Pay GEC category. These include Tumm Se Tumm Tak, Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan, Vasudha and Lakshmi Nivas, all introduced within the past 18 months.
Regional markets are delivering equally strong performances. Zee Marathi has recorded a 470 basis point rise in market share to 34.7 per cent in January 2026 compared with January 2025. Four of its shows, Kamli, Taarini, Veen Doghatli Hi Tutena and Lakshmi Nivas, feature among the top 10 in the Marathi GEC genre.
In eastern India, Zee Bangla has reclaimed leadership in the Bangla GEC segment in week seven of 2026, driven by five shows in the top 10 including Parineeta, Taare Dhori Dhori Mone Kori, Jowar Bhata, Amader Dadamoni and Chirodini Tumi Je Amar. The top ranked show Parineeta draws inspiration from Gen Z insights, reflecting changing audience sensibilities.
Zee Sarthak continues its five year leadership streak in the Odia GEC space with shows such as Sathi Sata Janmara, Suna Jhia, Tu Khara Mu Chhai, Tuma Bina and Bhagya Rekha occupying the top positions.
In the south, Zee Kannada maintains its long standing dominance, leading the Kannada GEC market for seven consecutive years. Seven fiction titles including Karna, Lakshmi Nivasa, Annayya, Amruthadhaare, Naa Ninna Bidalaare, Adi Lakshmi Purana and Brahmagantu form the top 7 shows in the category.
Zee Telugu is also gaining ground, emerging as the biggest channel across genres in Hyderabad while strengthening its position in the Telugu GEC segment across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Shows such as Jagadhatri, Meghasandesam, Jayam and Chamanthi occupy four of the top 10 spots.
With its regional channels gaining traction, Zee says it will continue sharpening its content playbook, focusing on stories that reflect everyday lives while tapping into evolving viewer preferences across markets.
