Stream The Top 10 International Series on JioHotstar Now | Prestige TV, cult favourites, future classics — Manik Sharma breaks down the must-watch shows currently streaming on the newest addition to OTTplay Premium.
| THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION might be peaking, but these 10 shows prove there’s still plenty of gold left to mine. Whether it’s starships or kitchens, remote beaches or finance bro boardrooms, this curation of international titles on JioHotstar (now available with your OTTplay Premium subscription) delivers top-tier storytelling and unforgettable performances. Some are slow burns, others explode on arrival — but all of them are worth your screen time. Stream live sports, blockbuster films and hit shows with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. 10. Dune Prophecy Besides the small part about Tabu’s Hollywood streaming bow, Dune Prophecy is also an eloquent, spectacularly mounted series about politicking in a dystopian world. The show extends the world of the Dune films into a tense, exceptionally performed precursor to the creation of the famed Bene Gesserit. For her part, Tabu is startling but also familiarly evasive in a series that maybe needs to push the envelope in its second season. | 9. The Pitt A decade after his breakthrough role in ER , to see Noah Wyle suit up is both, a tantalising possibility and a sorry arc for someone who hasn’t quite managed to shake the shadow of that formative career break. But The Pitt is a different beast: a barrage, or rather a chaotic, sensorial flood of action, stress, emotion amidst a crumbling, at times near lifeless, health care system. It’s so break-neck and dispiriting at times that you wish to look away but cannot. 8. The Day of the Jackal An assassin for hire, trying to pull off one last job. Sounds like the last genre action film you’ve seen, but in the hands of Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne this familiar tale of a hard-knuckled killers trying to escape the rot of dehumanisation takes a fresh, almost bewitching detour. Based on Frederick Forsyth’s bestseller, this everlasting tale of choosing between the righter of two wrongs is lifted by its pace and an actor whose mere presence adds a sense of whimsy to tropes trained and tested. 7. Resident Alien Chances are most of you haven’t heard of this series. It’s partly because some shows travel late. Resident Alien isn’t as quirky as it is sensationally irreverent. An alien, living in hiding, amidst the residents of a quiet port town. Led by Alan Tudyk, who himself looks like an otherworldly specimen at times, this is a show whose comedy is underlined by some bespoke commentary about the living — and the moral imperative to let them live. It’s hilarious and surprisingly deep. | 6. The Bear Now in its fourth season, The Bear was like a pocket bomb that exploded into our consciousness because its sheer ferocity. Its game-changing portrayal of what goes on inside the kitchen of a restaurant may have altered taste buds and etiquette forever. The same cast returns in the fourth season, with familiar personal and professional challenges to boot. The only reason this series has slipped in the rankings is because perhaps because it has mined suffering and stress for far too long. It’s still one of the best things to come out of food — apart from its life-nourishing quality of course. 5. Hacks Another one of those late bloomers, Hacks is a show about two ambitious women who come from different eras of entertainment. The banter, the cultural relevance of Hacks is so pervasive and effective it almost captures the essence of art and gig work without attaining a hypocritical sense of prestige. Jean Smart as the veteran comedian is near profound as an artist in decline, but the real snark comes from her spiky protege, played by Hannah Einbinder. It’s one of the sharpest comedies to come out in recent years, and is right up there with the best in terms of socio-cultural timeliness. | 4. Andor To make a Star Wars spin-off in 2025 isn’t exactly the opportunity of a lifetime anymore. The IP has long squeezed itself dry and unless you’re a fan prepared to hark back to the good days of George Lucas, there is precious little to say about the franchise’s stumbles of late. But Andor may have single-handedly resurrected a massive juggernaut into reconsideration. Driven by a mesmerising Diego Luna it’s political, action-packed, urgent and the right mix of spectacle and intrigue. To the point that in the IP's long and draining history, it might never get better than this. 3. Industry Stuck at a dead end job with diminishing returns? Well, you’ve come to the right place. HBO’s Industry is a pitch-perfect exploration of the drudgery of corporate work and how it dehumanises its subjects. Sexy, sensual but brute, this is a show that must be mandatory viewing for those chasing white collar jobs with breathless abandon. Industry doesn’t bother to commentate, it merely embodies a culture so wrecked, seductive yet exploitative, it turns into a hazardous temptation. You’ll never look at work the same way, once you’ve passed through Industry ’s revolving doors. | 2. The White Lotus The rich-being-campy-on-vacation world is back with a pit-stop Asia. Murder is inevitable as the elite smirk, bicker, and drown in their first-world problems. The costs, though, are real. The White Lotus has become the pinnacle of destination tragedies and its cultural and social subtexts extend well beyond the purview of the show. Set in Thailand, the latest season explores camaraderie, depression, the fear of missing out and the notion of revenge. It also features what is perhaps the scene of the year via a Sam Rockwell monologue that’ll make you sit up, stunned and bemused. (But mostly just stunned.) 1. The Last of Us HBO’s near perfect adaptation of the eponymous videogame, led by Emmy-worthy turns in Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, flirted with disaster for a bit in its second season but still remains one of streaming’s high points. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this its gaze focuses on the interpersonal as opposed to the civilisational. It’s in fact a choice the characters of this show often face — save the ones you love, or save everyone else. A decision that maybe none of us would repeat every time of asking. Which makes this beautifully crafted show about longing, sacrifice and hope in the shadow of death, wrenching and unmissable. | Wimbledon 2025, Day 8: Legends in the Box, Drama on the Court | As Federer watched, Sinner dodged disaster, Djokovic broke a curse, and Mirra continued her dream run. Harsh Pareek recaps Week 2's gripping start.
| WITH THE GRASS AROUND THE BASELINES wearing off and the All England Club putting out fires around their decision to replace the line judges with a (much contested) AI line-calling system — something that came into sharp focus on Sunday during a fourth round match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal after it was turned off in error — we entered the second week of the Grand Slam. One steeped in history, but (ready) to embrace the future, as the Rolex ad keeps reminding us. An overcast day gave way to quiet sunshine, and in the house were Roger Federer and wife Mirka to watch over the proceedings from the Royal Box. The splendid atmosphere would later make way for some shocking scenes on the Centre Court, but that was still some hours away. First up, it was Croatian Marin Čilić against Italian Flavio Cobolli on Court 2. 36-year-old Čilić, who on his way here had seen off fourth seed Brit Jack Draper in the second round but had more gruelling encounters to contend with, seemed not at his best as he lost the first two sets 6-4, 6-4. By the time he got back into his rhythm an hour or so in, it was too late. The bristling 23-year-old, part of the Italian posse making waves at the tournament, clinched the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3). On the women's side next, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine attempts after beating 18th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4) 6-4. Serving for the second set and 5-3 up, Bencic had a bit of a meltdown as she continuously failed to close the match, with her team at the receiving end of her growing frustration. But the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion held her nerve and will now meet another Russian, Mirra Andreeva, in the quarters. | Like what you read? Get more of what you like. Visit the OTTplay website or download the app to stay up-to-date with news, recommendations and special offers on streaming content. Plus: always get the latest reviews. Sign up for our newsletters. Already a subscriber? Forward this email to a friend, or use the share buttons below. | | | This weekly newsletter compiles a list of the latest (and most important) reviews from OTTplay so you can figure what to watch or ditch over the weekend ahead. | | Each week, our editors pick one long-form, writerly piece that they think it worthy of your attention, and dice it into easily digestible bits for you to mull over. | | In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an
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