Netflix India Boss Monika Shergill Eyes Global Format Adaptations After “Captive Reality” Series ‘Lock Upp’ Hits 50 Million Hours
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- Shergill revealed Netflix is developing India-localized versions of Netflix-owned unscripted formats, declining to name them; Netflix holds international production rights but does not own Love is Blind (Kinetic Content/The North Road Company) or Too Hot to Handle (Fremantle)
- Lock Upp, the Balaji Telefilms-produced "captive reality" jail show Netflix revitalized with hosts Farah Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, has logged 50 million hours viewed since debuting June 27 and accrued 2.5 billion social media interactions within three weeks
- Netflix's What We Watched data ranks Lock Upp as the second-most-watched series by hours; it has spent two weeks on the Global Top (Non-English) Series list and expanded from five to six weekly episodes on audience demand
- Netflix struck a co-exclusive deal with comedian Samay Raina for Season 2 of his YouTube show India's Got Latent alongside a stand-up special, after his chemistry with Kapil Sharma on The Great Indian Kapil Show
- Operation Safed Sagar, a high-budget drama about the Indian Air Force's 1999 Kargil War aerial campaign made with Matchbox Shots and Feel Good Films in direct collaboration with the IAF, is Netflix's biggest show in its tenth year in India, per Shergill
- Only about a quarter of India's 601 million streaming consumers pay for services (Ormax Media, September 2025), with JioHotstar, Sony LIV, and Prime Video — now subsuming MX Player — as key rivals in what Shergill called "one of the toughest streaming markets in the world"
Why it matters: Netflix India is placing simultaneous bets across unscripted formats, comedy, and prestige military drama heading into its tenth year, with Shergill positioning Lock Upp and Operation Safed Sagar as proof that Netflix can dominate every tier — premium, aspirational, unscripted — in a 601-million-streamer market where only 25% pay and JioHotstar, Prime Video, and Sony LIV are all aggressively expanding.
