The ‘wrap up’ of the year 2016 has happened!! A great year with respect to the growth in the TV industry!! In terms of experimentation and going beyond the ‘limited territory’ of TV viewing, 2016 has seen phenomenal results.

Here in our very own special Year-Ender feature, Tellychakkar.com lists out the Popular Trends of 2016 that did all the talking and were most cherished. 

The biggest head-lift this year has been the emergence of more and more finite series concepts. Conceptualized keeping in mind a clear new wave in terms of the uniqueness in storytelling, the finite series has indeed struck a chord with the masses. 

And no doubt, leading the way is the Ekta Kapoor thriller on Colors, Naagin. The show based on the story of Ichcha dhari naagins and their road to revenge is actually an age-old story, something that we have been watching both on the small screen and big screen for quite some time. But how well has the concept been re-structured, glorified with intense performances, visual presentations and applaudable VFX effects this time around? Hats off to the broadcaster and maker for giving viewers the perfect formula for entertainment!! 

Following the success of Naagin, the year saw many more finite concepts on air. Tamanna, though did not rake in huge numbers did get critically acclaimed for its novel concept of a girl aspiring to become a cricketer. Also, Dahleez will be remembered for quite some time for being the show that brought out the corrupt ideologies amidst which the bureaucratic system works. Viewers also saw a hotel-based thriller in Gulmohar Grand, Ekta Kapoor’s other finite series ventures in Kawach and Brahmarakshas, and of course the return of Anil Kapoor’s 24 with the sequel. 

Certainly, gone are the days of viewers getting happy on seeing an already aged character growing older to eternity. And gone is the patience of viewers to look for shows that run endlessly, even after it has gotten out of the crux of the storyline. 

Finite shows are here to stay and today’s TV viewing audience will surely look forward to more of experiments in this genre coming their way!! 

While the daily shows have continued to prove their mettle in terms of drama, the weekend shows have definitely not fallen behind at least in this year!! 

Of course, the weekends have gotten spookier with the advent of the thought of coming up with supernatural shows rather than the gharelu dramas to keep the entire family hooked on to the idiot box even during the weekends. 

Naagin again set the perfect example, and the manner in which the show toppled all the other TRP raking shows to capture the numero uno position from its very first week of launch certainly spoke volumes of the ‘difference’ in terms of content on weekends. 

Ekta Kapoor has gone on to capitalize on the initial success of the supernatural content doing well over the weekends, by coming up with two very fascinating concepts in Kavach and Brahmarakshas. We hear many other broadcasters and producers will soon be following suit by bringing supernatural/thriller based shows in the near future during the weekends.

Hail, weekends were never so interesting on TV!! 

Gone are the days when the women of TV used to entertain audiences with their sindoor-clad ‘dukhiyaari’ avatar!! Gone are the days where the men used to simply stand as the furniture in the house, helping out their girls in some way or the other, but believe it, by maintaining a clear distance in terms of holding the seniority position. 

Nowadays, both the men and women of TV are happy to disown the ‘humane’ avatars, as they no longer provide variety. 

Well, it is the spooky and fantasized avatars of the naags, naagins, daayans, vampires, gorillas, mongooses, half buffalo and half human ones, and the very important fly that provide all the more entertainment value. 

Irrespective of whether the storyline has a saas- bahu content or a more spookier one, most of the recent shows on TV have adapted to the route of bringing in an animal or a supernatural avatar to overpower the humans... 

Talking about the popular trends, this year has also seen the emergence of digital content and the idea of bringing in more of the youth-based, bold and daring concepts to the platform of web. 

This has also meant that many of the popular actors from TV space looked out for that huge variety and grabbed the first chance of feeling different in the digital platform.

Starting from Nakuul Mehta, Drashti Dhami, Rithvik Dhanjani, Karan Patel, Disha Parmar, Chhavi Mittal, Kritika Kamra to Barun Sobti, Surbhi Jyoti, Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar, a lot of actors have found solace and happiness being part of the digital content. 

Surely, a rising wave has been created and the trend of actors as well as noted production houses thronging to be part of this change is foreseen.

Accepted, the finite series have made a clear inroad in the way of newer programming on TV. But this certainly does not mean that viewers have left their loyalties behind when it comes to the shows that have been running for long now!!

This year has seen the resilience and sustenance of some popular long-running shows amidst huge competition. Shows like Saathiya, Sasural Simar Ka, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah have stood tall and continue to entertain masses with their plots.

Reality shows have again stood their ground and have continued to entertain masses. The Kapil Sharma Show, Comedy Nights Bachao, Voice Kids, Master Chef India, Super Dancer, Bigg Boss, SaReGaMaPa etc have held their spots and have continued to maintain their win-win ratio with the audiences. 

After talking about the positives, we now move forward to the minuses or setbacks seen this year. 

Well, the time taken to make shows has in many cases been longer than its duration of being on air!! Yes, sad state of affairs, this. And there is a long list of shows that failed to cater to the audiences and were abruptly shut owing to low numbers in just few months of being on air.

A brigade of shows – Rishton Ka Saudagar – Baazigar, Meri Saasu Maa, Vishkanya, Bade Bhaiyya Ki Dulhaniya, Ek Duje Ke Vaaste, Silsila Pyaar Ka, Janbaaz Sindbad, Nagarjun – Ek Yoddha etc, Amma, Adhuri Kahaani Humari, Kahani Hamari...Dil Dosti Deewanapan had only few months of run (the least duration being a meagre one month). 

Moving over to the biggest disappointments of 2016 in terms of exits and replacements, we have a long list ahead. 

Talking about the exits, the controversy surrounding the exit of the extremely popular Hina Khan from Star Plus’ long-running show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai really took everyone by shock. The much-loved show also saw one of the biggest replacements this year, with the popular Karan Mehra opting out of the show after ruling in the hearts of fans for nearly 7 years as Naitik. His exit paved way for the entry of the experienced actor Vishal Singh. Yeh Rishta saw another major exit with the young heart throb Rohan Mehra quitting Yeh Rishta for the plump offer of Bigg Boss on the rival channel, Colors. 

On Colors, the biggest exits were of the adorable pair of Avika Gor and Manish Raisinghan from the popular show, Sasural Simar Ka. 

Also, Pearl V. Puri and Mohit Sehgal’s exits from their Zee TV shows Meri Saasu Maa and Sarojini made heads turn. 

In the non-fiction genre, the controversy related to the exit of Kapil Sharma from his long-fruitful association with Channel Colors was sour indeed. With a complete loyalty shift from Colors to Sony, Kapil Sharma’s drastic move created lot of buzz and of course bad air in the industry.  

Also, the unceremonious exit of seasoned actor Mita Vashisht in early 2016 from her show Kaala Teeka left a bad taste. 

The abrupt exit of Vrushika Mehta from Star Plus’ Ishqbaaaz owing to creative reasons and also due to the negative wave coming in because of the over-indulgence of her fans raised lot of eyebrows. 

Talking about replacements, we have already mentioned about the huge replacement of Karan Mehra with Vishal Singh in Yeh Rishta. 

However, the biggest controversial replacement of the year has to be of Shilpa Shinde in & TV’s popular show, Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai. Shilpa’s alleged unruly behaviour stressed out many in the industry and her ouster saga from the show will be remembered forever. Her exit paved way for the talented Shubhangi Aatre to take her place as the much-loved Angoori Bhabhi of TV. 

The most depressing replacement was that of the very talented and enterprising Meheck Chahal who was all set to rule the TV as the most powerful chudail in Colors’ Kavach. However, an injury early in her Kavach journey forced her to quit the show. This brought in the much-experienced Ssara Khan to play the role. 

The replacement of the young Eisha Singh with Sanjeeda Sheikh in Colors’ Ishq Ka Rang Safed was another heart breaker, considering the fact that Eisha was developing very well as an actor. 

On Life OK, the replacement of Anshuman Khurana after all the hard efforts that he had put in for his supernatural avatar in Nagarjuna – Ek Yoddha came in as a shocker. Pearl V. Puri who faced an unceremonial exit in his earlier show, Meri Saasu Maa was the lucky one this time to bag the prized role in the Life OK show.

Also, the reincarnation saga on Colors, Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki saw the abrupt exit of the young actress Shivani Tomar owing to a dip in TRP after the much-anticipated leap in the tale. This again made way for the original pairing of Kratika Sengar and Ssharad Malhotra to blossom again. 

On Sony TV, the most stunning replacement came from the sets of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman with Aarya Babbar, who shone bright as the modern age Raavan moving out of the show. And in came Saurav Gujjar as his replacement. 

Zee TV’s popular show Kumkum Bhagya saw two big replacements this year. While Arijit Taneja who played Purab finally decided to move out, Vin Rana grabbed the opportunity to play his part in the story ahead. Also, Nikhil Arya opted out of the show, and in came Rujut Dahiya in the role of the antagonist. 

Moving ahead, the year 2016 was not a cake walk for the biggies from Bollywood. While Anil Kapoor’s magic failed to entertain viewers in the Season 2 of 24 on Colors, biggies like Urvashi Sharma, Shabana Azmi and Meghana Naidu could not light up the story of Zee TV’s Amma. The same happened with the celebrity pair of Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan who hosted the dance reality on Sony TV, Power Couple. Their presence only enlightened more controversies hovering around their rocky marital relationship. Personalities like Nikitin Dheer and Nawab Shah could not resurrect the sinking ship of Nagarjun – Ek Yoddha (Life OK). 

A huge star cast comprising of Amrita Rao, Zarina Wahab, Pallavi Joshi amongst others could not rake in TRPs for their musical saga on &, Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai. The show though was talked about a lot for its realistic flavour, failed to garner numbers. 

A stellar cast comprising of Purab Kohli, Sandhya Mridul, Satyadeep Mishra, Manish Chaudhary has not been able to redeem the ratings of the unique concept P.O.W. – Bandi Yuddh Ke (Star Plus) brought in on TV by Nikkhil Advani.

Seasoned actor Kiran Kumar simply has not been able to bring in the charm and charisma spread on the big screen by Amitabh Bachchan in the family driven concept similar to Baghban on Zee TV titled Sanyukt (Zee TV).  

Keeping aside the plusses and minuses of the year gone by, we await the TV industry to flourish and prosper this year. After all, if the ‘janta’ is made happy, half the battle is won. 

Here’s wishing all of our readers a very Happy New Year. Keep visiting the space for more of our Year Ender Special Features.