Best South OTT Show of 2023: From Dhootha, Kerala Crime Files to Modern Love Chennai; vote for your favorite

As we say goodbye to the last few days of 2023 and eagerly await the arrival of the new year, let's take a moment to celebrate the incredible content that graced India's screens this year. 

The Indian OTT industry witnessed a huge surge in the number of incredible web series across various languages such as Tamil and Telugu. This year, we even witnessed the first-ever web series in Malayalam. It's truly a new era for content and streaming, and now Pinkvilla readers have the opportunity to vote for their favorite shows of 2023.

Top OTT shows of 2023

1. Modern Love Chennai

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Modern Love Chennai is a Tamil language romantic anthology featuring six episodes of six different kinds of love stories that are happening in Chennai. The show is an Indian adaptation of a similar American series called Modern Love developed by John Carney which itself was based on a weekly column on The New York Times. The show featured an ensemble cast of actors including Ashok Selvan, Wamiqa Gabbi, Ritu Varma, Kishore, Ramya Nambeeshan, and many more in crucial roles.

The show produced by Tyler Durden and Kino Fist featured six different stories directed by six different directors Bharathiraja, Balaji Sakthivel, Raju Murugan, Krishnakumar Ramakumar, Akshay Sundher, and Thiagarajan Kumararaja. Along with being one of the directors, Thiagarajan Kumararaja was also the showrunner and executive producer of the series with composers Ilaiyaraaja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, GV Prakash Kumar, and Sean Roldan working on various episodes. The show was a massive hit for both audience and critics.

2. Kerala Crime Files

Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar

Kerala Crime Files - Shiju, Parayil Veedu, Neendakara is the first season of a Malayalam-language crime drama web television series directed by Ahammed Khabeer which was written by Ashiq Aimar.

The show features actors Aju Varghese and Lal in leading roles as two police officers in Ernakulam North station who are in a race against time to capture a murderer on the loose. The web series included six episodes that had Hi Nanna and Hridayam fame music composer Hesham Abdul Wahab crafting the tunes.

3. Kumari Srimathi

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Kumari Srimathi is a Telugu language drama series directed by Gomtesh Upadhye and created by Srinivas Avasarala who co-wrote the series along with Uday Aghamarshan, Jayanth Tadinada, and Kaushik Subrahmanya.

Srimathi, the main character of this series, faces numerous challenges in her life. She works at a restaurant, earning an average salary, but her true passion lies in pursuing her own business and reclaiming her ancestral property from her uncle. The show, featuring Nithya Menen as the lead, received a mix of positive and negative feedback. Gauthami and Thiruveer also play important roles in the series.

4. The Village

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

The Village was a Tamil language horror thriller starring Arya, Divya Pillai, George Maryan, Baby Aazhiya, John Kokken, Pooja Ramachandran, and many more in key roles. The show was produced by BS Radhakrishnan, under Studio Shakthi Productions with the story being adapted from a graphic novel of the same written by Asvin Srivatsangam and Shamik Dasgupta.

The show features the story of Dr Gautham Subramanian who along with his family consisting of his wife, Neha, and daughter, Maya, experience a car breakdown in the deserted village of Kattiyal while traveling from Chennai to Thoothukudi. Going to seek help Gautham abandons his family only to come back to see them disappear along with getting to know the dark secrets of the place. The show features six episodes that received mixed to negative reviews from the critics.

5. Masterpeace

Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar

Masterpeace is a Malayalam language drama series written by Praveen S and directed by Sreejith N features an ensemble cast of actors like Nithya Menen, Sharaf U Dheen, Renji Panicker, Maala Parvathi, Ashokan and Shanthi Krishna in the lead roles.

The five-episode web series was produced by Mathew George under the banner of Central Advertising which told the tale of an unconventional family led by Binoy, a determined yet struggling businessman, and Ria, a dedicated homemaker striving to hold their unique family together. The series received a mixed set of responses.

6. Sweet Kaaram Coffee

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Sweet Kaaram Coffee is a Tamil language comedy-drama series created by Reshma Ghatala and directed by Bejoy Nambiar, Krishna Marimuthu, and Swathi Raghuraaman.

The series features the story of three different women a grandmother, her daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter who set out on a journey to understand and transition above the people who they considered they were obligated to. The series consisted of eight episodes with actors Lakshmi, Madhoo, and Santhy Balachandran playing lead roles. The show received positive reviews from the audience and critics.

7. Dhootha

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Dhootha is a Telugu language horror mystery thriller series featuring Naga Chaitanya in the leading role, marking his OTT debut. The series was created and directed by Vikram K Kumar and tells the story of Saagar is journalist who comes in contact with a newspaper that predicts the events that are set to happen in his life.

Along with Chay, the series also features actors like Parvathy Thiruvothu, Prachi Desai, Tharun Bhascker, Rohini, Tanikella Bharani, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Pasupathy and many more in key roles. The eight-episode web series was met with positive reviews from the audience and critics.

Cast your votes here:

The votes you cast would decide who wins the title of Best South OTT Show for the year 2023. Stay tuned for the results!

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