7 Unreleased Indian Web Series: Where are they now? [Update 2022]

India has seen almost 500 web series come up in the past 5 years. There are new shows coming out every week and it seems like there is no end for new content for the audience to consume. But, in some corners of the net, searches are still being made for shows that announced their arrival with drums and dhols, their trailers going viral, the cast and crew hyping up the show to the nth degree. And then… silence.

In this post, we have highlighted 7 web series (or their anticipated seasons) we have found that haven’t seen the light of the day or have seen some but have been shoved down the hole again. These are the unreleased shows of which people ask Google and Quora their answers to. Here we have managed to chronicle every one of these that we’ve found.

1. Guns and Thighs

Creator: Ram Gopal Varma
Trailer date: May 2017
Speculative Release date: 2018
IMDB Youtube

Starting with the big one. Guns and Thighs, named after Ram Gopal Varma’s autobiographical book, came out all guns blazing with a trailer released on May 2017 that quickly went viral and today stands at around 13 Million views. The trailer had all the trademark RGVisms. Brutal violence, Gangland Mumbai, Criminal underbelly, Corrupt officials, Lots of guns and yes, lots of thighs and other bare body parts which no doubt helped in the virality of the trailer. The trailer showed a lot of promise from a director who knows his genre. But then, the trail went cold.

Guns and Thighs web series update and release date - webisoda
Fan-made poster for Guns & Thighs

They have a website out http://www.gunsandthighs.com since 2017 and no updates have been posted there. RGV has released 7 movies since the launch of the trailer so clearly, he has other projects on his mind. He has been quoted in saying that they have shot 10 episodes, with the overall arc of the story culminating in 4 seasons. The first inkling of which can be seen in his Facebook post regarding the trailer launch. We have reached to the Guns and Thighs for an update on the release date and we’ll update it as soon as we have some information. Meanwhile, check out the trailer if you haven’t.

2. Gormint (The Ministry)

Creator: All India Bakchod
Platform: Amazon Prime
Trailer date: N/A
Speculative Release date: Late-2018 / Early-2019
IMDB Youtube

Oh Man, where do we start with this one? Let’s see the synopsis first shall we

A jaded movie star who unwittingly becomes part of the Cabinet, in this case the Ministry of Culture

In this much-touted satirical show, in what was supposed to be AIB’s first fictional web-series, the cards seemed to all line up. Rohan Joshi and Tanmay Bhat announced the show and what it’s about during the 2018 India Today Conclave. They had Irrfan Khan to play the lead and Amazon Prime backing up the production with a truckful of money. They had a name change from ‘The Ministry’ to ‘Gormint’,  which is probably the much better, catchier title. Then, the cards seemingly fell apart.

Irrfan Khan playing up a popular meme ‘Ye Bik Gayi hai Gormint’

Irrfan got diagnosed with cancer amidst shoot and had to exit the show (For anyone wondering, the actor has resumed work after his treatment in London.) Then, the MeToo movement hit AIB hard. It started with women harassed by Utsav Chakraborty (more on him below) putting out stories of the comedian’s misconduct and Tanmay Bhat apparently ignoring complaints against Utsav, when the latter worked at AIB, from multiple women. Then allegations against Khamba came out which resulted in both him and Tanmay getting ousted from the company they founded and the AIB channel and company going on a long hiatus. (Official statement here)

So where is Gormint?

All of this puts the status of Gormint uncertain as platforms such as Amazon and Hotstar are wary of touching controversial people from a ten-foot pole. Although, according to a news in November 2018, Arshad Warsi has been cast as the lead man, replacing Irrfan. The last news that came out was that Shikha Talsania had been signed on to make her digital debut in Gormint. That was in Feb 2019. No news has come out since, but if they are casting and supposedly filming, as latest as early 2019, there are some hopes of it seeing the light of day. Watch this space.

3. Gangster Newton

Creator: Timbuktu Films
Trailer date: March 2017
Speculative Release date: 2018
IMDB Youtube

Man, you really shouldn’t name your shows starting with the letter G, should you? Panauti parade that’s what this is. Anyway, here’s Gangster newton’s synopsis

Newton is a young Maharashtrian boy who fails to find a job despite being an IIT topper, who somehow finds himself in a crime ring and goes on to be the top of the mafia using his smarts.

Gangster Newton web series release date webisoda
Poster for Gangster Newton

At first, glance, when you see the Gangster Newton trailer, you see the talent involved. Then up-and-coming Shashank Arora, paired up with the people who made ‘I Don’t Watch TV‘, made a really good combination. The trailer then explodes into a mad chase down favela-looking Bombay shanties and escalates to a point where nothing but comic relief would suffice and that it does.  At second glance, it does look like someone took a Whatsapp joke too far and created a well-produced show out of it. Then you think how are they going to sustain the maths + science + underworld angle much longer for an entire season. Turns out, they didn’t really.

Where is Gangster Newton?

The trailer for ‘Gangster Newton’ has been out since March of 2017 and no news has trickled in of its update from the creators. But according to an interview given to mid-day by the lead actor, they were still shooting it and were expected to wrap up production by the end of 2018. Watch this space for any more updates on the story. Check out the funny trailer meanwhile.

4. Starting up

Creator:  Kairos Productions
Trailer date: March 2016
Speculative Release date: Late 2016
IMDB Youtube

Here’s the official synopsis given for Starting Up

Starting Up brings to you a new-age story of a man and woman brought together by marriage, but who blossom to find their purpose in Life,when tides turn against – to discover the meaning of Love.

Starting Up web series what happened and release date
Official Poster for ‘Starting Up’

You know where this is going by now right? The series was to star Monica Sehgal, who starred in the Manmarziyaan TV series & Hitesh Malukani, who played Gaston in Beauty and the Beast on stage and was covered in media with much fanfare. There are interviews given by the cast (You can check out Monica Sehgal’s here) and the series was touted to be released late 2016.

Where is Starting Up?

There was a post on Kairos Productions’ Facebook page on 12 July 2016 with the following message

It will take some more time, because something special is brewing! Thanks for the love and support.
#StartingUp

And that was the last thing they ever posted. The trailer has been offline for a while now, and on the face of it, it doesn’t look like they’re coming back soon. But, personal opinion, the trailer looked really good when I checked it back in 2016. Don’t know how my 2019 eyes would react to that but from what I remember, it was a really well-made show and looked promising at least. You can message Kairos’ on FB but I don’t know how responsive they’ll be, seeing that they have been inactive since 2016. Watch this space for any updates on the situation.

5. Sinskaari

Creator: Voot
Platform: Voot
Trailer date: March 2016
Speculative Release date: May 2018
IMDB Youtube

We don’t know if this is art imitating life or the other way around. In 2016, Alok Nath was held in high esteem by the meme community particularly for his predilection for playing the Babuji in many late -90s & early 00s movies. The memes in as to what Babuji would say to a particularly scandalous situation poured in relentlessly and just like that Alok Nath as Babuji was viral. AIB and TVF both released parody videos; AIB’s taken down theirs (reupload by someone else here) as did TVF (reupload here), the reason for that would be pretty clear soon.

What happened to sinskaari web series?

Voot cashed in on the meme, creating a whole talk show on the backs of Babuji. Synopsis below:

Finally India has a show where Sins meet Sanskaar. In every episode, our very own Babuji – Alok Nath, will interview celebrities on their sins n sinful side! Babuji (or affectionately called BJ) quizzes his guests about their fantasies, role-play and all things sexy! Alok Nath plays India’s first reluctant host in this steamy chat show. Scandalized?? Well, you have our host for company!

Where is Sinskaari?

Only one episode was released of this show and then it was canned. We don’t know the reasons for the canning but we probably know that it’s not coming back soon enough. Alok Nath was swept up in the MeToo wave as the poster-boy for all things sanskaar was revealed to be an old creep who takes advantage of women in power. We should’ve seen this coming a mile away right? Anyway, Voot has redirected the link of the show back to its homepage. As I said, we don’t know when or if it will be back, but will let you know if it does. Check out the trailer below

6. Better Life Foundation – Season 2

Creator: Them Boxer Shorts
Platform: Hotstar
Trailer date: March 2016
Speculative Release date: May 2018
IMDB Youtube

This is a peculiar case. This series was released, appreciated and loved by everyone who saw it. We here at Webisoda rank BLF as one of the best web series of Indian origin and that is saying something. Not because we said so but to stand out in a crowd of almost 500 web series to come out of the country is something special. Naveen and team created such magic with a minimal cast, brilliant story and the best use of mockumentary deadpans in season one, that it was hard to see how they can recreate that again. But they did, BLF Season 2 was even better and they now received a bigger platform on Hotstar. Everything was going great as the cast and crew were drowning in the praises of the show, and then MeToo happened.

They all look so happy

Utsav Chakraborty’s case not only took down the whole of AIB but affected a lot of the other properties he was involved in. BLF was shunned as Utsav was a main cast member and then, Hotstar, in a move of sheer panic, removed both seasons of BLF it had on its platform. The move was criticized and in June of 2019, the hashtag #bringbackBLF trended on twitter.

So, where is BetterLife Foundation Season 2?

As of August 2019, there have been no updates from Hotstar’s end. We will update this article as soon as we have any news. ‘Til then, please watch  Season 1 of the show if you haven’t. It’s pure gold.

There is a caveat though. If you’re in the US, you can still watch the show. Use a proxy VPN or something, if you really want to watch that. Link here

7. TVF Pitchers – Season 2

Creator: The Viral Fever
Platform: TVFPlay
Trailer date: N/A
Speculative Release date: May 2018
IMDB Youtube

Now, here’s the reason you probably landed on this article. ‘Pitchers 2 kab aayega?’ has been a warcry for thousands now who are clamouring for the second season of what was ostensibly the first viral web series that started the trend in India. Pitchers was a success like no other. A well-crafted, well-written show with complex characters, great humour, and a superb plot and it is well-received too, the show is highly rated on IMDB with a 9.2 rating from more than 45k votes landing it in the top TV lists for that website. If any other show deserves a second season, it’s this one.

Season 1 Poster

But, before we go into the reasons, here’s a plot synopsis, as if you already don’t know it.

A story of trials and tribulations of four young entrepreneurs who quit their day jobs in order to pursue their start up venture.

Pitchers is that kind of success that even after four years of its release people are asking about the second season be it on blogs, forums, video comments on any TVF video, accosting TVF cast and crew in public. The question is the same: ‘Ye sab thik hai, Pitchers 2 kab aayega?’ 

So, when will Pitchers 2 be released?

In a similar question on Quora, Biswapati Sarkar, the writer of Pitchers Season 1, had this to say

We would know the exact date around June-July 2016, once we start pre-production. The release date should be around October 2016, which is a fairly optimistic estimate.

I know that seems like a long time, but it takes time to outline, write, produce, film, edit and release something worthwhile.

This gave the first inkling for the fans that they were at least working on Season 2.

The hype increased especially after the end of Permanent Roommates’ Season 2 where they posted a little teaser of a probable second season as an after-credits scene on December 2016


Pitchers 2 teaser trailer 

And that was the last thing anything was officially posted from TVF’s about Pitchers Season 2. The production got delayed and delayed and other projects took priority. The big thing that hit the production was the first wave of the oncoming MeToo campaign that took one of the big fishes with it in a medium article: the founder of TVF and one of the main cast members on the show, Arunabh Kumar, who played Yogi. In March 2017, multiple women came out revealing him to be the perpetrator of workplace sexual harassment, with one report stating that over 50 cases have been uncovered against the TVF boss. Well, ex-TVF boss. By June 2017, Arunabh had stepped down as the CEO of the entertainment company. Post the initial article coming out, the TVF staff were caught in a shitstorm of a high degree when they tried and failed to defend Arunabh. In lieu of all this, TVF kept quiet for a few months and slowly began to release content after a public statement was released. TVF has slowly rebuilt its image, posting high-quality web series and continuously rolling out new content through their main channel and their sister channels. The same cannot be said about Arunabh.

So is Pitchers 2 Cancelled?

The cast member most in the limelight has been Naveen Kasturia and he has been repeatedly hounded by the question (which I’m not repeating again.) The last statement he provided, in May 2018, was that TVF Pitchers Season 2 has been “indefinitely pushed“. At least he’s not saying it’s canceled, but we can hang on to flimsy hopes.

TVF also released a showreel of all their upcoming projects in May of this year, and Pitchers 2 was understandably missing.

For all we know, this is the end of Pitchers as we know it, but that doesn’t stop us from searching on google or asking on Quora the same question that everyone has been asking for the past four years. The question that has been asked again and again and will go down in the annals of history as the most annoying question there ever was: Melody itni chocolatey kyun hai?

Nai pata bc! All I know that main beer hoon.

Also, check out this great video by Vedant Rusty on the whole shenanigan. It’s really good.

Those were it, I guess. We would definitely add more if we come across any other dead, buried, shitcanned, uncertain shows. Also, please write in the comments section below what you thought of this and if you’d like us to do more such detailed topics.

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