iWorld
SonyLIV to enter Originals race, get fresh look by next year
MUMBAI: The over-the-top media game is just heating up and Sony Pictures Networks is all set to revamp its digital platform SonyLIV by next year. It will roll out a few new originals in another six-eight months in both Hindi and regional languages.
SonyLIV is an ad-based video-on-demand platform in the OTT space and majorly runs the content that is being broadcasted on its network television channels across genres.
SonyLIV’s head – original content Saugata Mukherjee, during an exclusive chat with indiantelevision.com, says: “By next year or so, there is a plan to re-launch SonyLIV. Our focus is to bring some of the real variety on the platform and to get to work with really interesting filmmakers and storytellers.”
He adds: “We have on board some filmmakers and some of our originals are already in production. And hopefully, we shall have enough slate to talk about by the end of this year.”
The OTT space has received an overwhelming response from the individual audience for the extraordinary and out-of-the-box content that is being produced and shown on the digital platforms. US-based Netflix and Amazon being leaders in the market, dominate the space.
Mukherjee, highlighting the content strategy of the platform, says: “We are going to invest a lot on Hindi original content and step two would be to invest in Southern language content such as Tamil and Telugu. However, right now the focus is on the Hindi content and then the regional.”
“Data gives us a lot of numbers and drives us towards the south,” says the SonyLIV head. “If there’s a big skew in the south, we need to cater to that. And thankfully, we have real-time data, which clearly points out that we have a great piece of an audience in the southern part of the country.”
Out of four broadcaster-led OTT platforms, Zee Enterprises’ ZEE5 and Star India’s Hotstar have already entered the game of originals along with the content they broadcast on television. However, the other two – Network18’s Voot and Sony Pictures’ SonyLIV – are yet to embark on their original content journey.
Voot, however, is all set to begin the journey in another a month’s time, as confirmed by the platform’s head Gourav Rakshit during an exclusive chat with indiantelevision.com. “We are set to launch at least four new originals in Hindi within the next 30-45 days,” he said. The platform earlier in January has turned itself to subscription video-on-demand from ad-based video-on-demand.
According to Mukherjee, it’s been two years since the proliferation of OTT has happened and it’s just a start. He believes there’s enough space for everyone just like there’s space on television for Sony, Zee, and Star. They have their own set of audience and running a successful business for so many years now, he explains.
“Unlike other OTT platforms, the good part of the broadcaster-led OTTs is that they are already sitting on a huge amount of content they have produced and realised the importance of IPs created by them,” he says.
“The good thing about SonyLIV is that we have some marquee sports properties this year such as Tokyo Olympics, Euro Cup, and we plan to monetise them really well. Since we have a strong cohort and ardent subscribers here, we need to take care of them by making original content,” Mukherjee concludes.
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.
