iWorld
Prime Video announces March 13 premiere for Tamil original Local Times with trailer launch
Seven-episode Tamil comedy follows friends saving a fading local newspaper
MUMBAI: Prime Video has set 13 March as the global premiere date for its Tamil original comedy-drama Local Times, releasing a lively trailer that blends newsroom chaos with warmth and friendship.
The seven-episode series unfolds inside a struggling local weekly newspaper battling shrinking relevance in a fast-shifting digital news ecosystem. Developed by Anekdotes and produced by Fanboy Production, the show is directed by Naveen George Thomas and produced by Jithin Thorai.
The story centres on four friends: Veera, Azhagu, Valli and Muthu, who struggle to keep Namma Seidhi, a once-respected regional newspaper owned by Veera’s grandfather, alive. Short on funds but long on stubborn optimism, the group navigates newsroom mishaps, personal clashes and a determined rival intent on shutting them down.
The ensemble cast features Rishikanth, Abdool Lee, Maurish Dass, Adwitha Arumugam, R. Pandiarajan, Chinni Jayanth, Rini and Nandhitha Sreekumar in key roles.
“Local Times is a rooted and emotionally resonant story,” said Prime Video India director and head of originals Nikhil Madhok. While the series unfolds within a small newsroom, he said its themes of friendship and resilience travel well beyond geography.
Producer Jithin Thorai said the team set out to craft a simple, light-hearted story about ordinary people clinging to something they believe in. The local newspaper setting offers a familiar world, he added, but the heart of the series lies in the bond between the four protagonists.
The show is created by Abbhinav Kastura and Praveen Muthurangan alongside Satwik Gade, Thomas Manuel and Visvaksen P. The screenplay is written by Praveen Muthurangan.
Director Naveen George Thomas, making his directorial debut with the series, said the protagonists are flawed but deeply loyal to one another. The humour emerges from their desperation, he noted, while the emotional pull lies in their refusal to abandon each other.
Local Times will premiere in India and across 240 countries and territories, streaming in Tamil with English subtitles exclusively on Prime Video.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
