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The Best Drama Series on Disney+ Hotstar
Other creators include Steven Soderbergh, David Simon, Ben Stiller, David E. Kelley, Ryan Murphy, Sarah Treem, Hagai Levi, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Tony Kushner, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Terence Winter, Sam Levinson, Sally Wainwright, Rodrigo García, Tom Hooper, Todd Haynes, Richard Price, Steven Zaillian, Jane Anderson, David Nicholls, and Alan Ball.
You might find more drama TV shows in our list of best TV series. If you’re looking for more TV series on Disney+ Hotstar, we’ve recommendations for some select other genres as well that you should check out. We also have a similar article for best drama and comedy-drama series on Amazon Prime Video.
The Best TV Series on Disney+ Hotstar
The Best Comedy Series on Disney+ Hotstar
The Best Mystery and Thriller Series on Disney+ Hotstar
- The Affair (2014 – 2019)A schoolteacher and budding novelist (Dominic West) begins an extramarital affair with a young waitress (Ruth Wilson) trying to piece together her life in this sombre drama, which delivered two strong seasons of deep and psychological observation before a slight dip brought by plot struggles in the third season. Recovered marginally for fifth and final season.
- American Crime Story (2016 – Present)A crime anthology series from prolific creator Ryan Murphy, which dramatises historic criminal cases in the US, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the assassination of Gianni Versace by spree killer Andrew Cunanan. A terrific first season followed by a slightly less powerful second. Season 3, about Bill Clinton’s impeachment, begins in September.
- Angels in America (2003)Al Pacino and Meryl Streep lead the cast of this six-part miniseries that swept the Emmys and Golden Globes. Based on Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, it’s set during the dawn of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and follows six New Yorkers — a powerful lawyer (Pacino) among them — whose lives are connected.
- Big Little Lies (2017 – 2019)The lives of five wealthy but emotionally-troubled women (Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, and Laura Dern) living in in an idyllic California town are upended after their involvement in a murder investigation, sending ripples across the community. Season 2 couldn’t live up to its first, even with the presence of Meryl Streep.
- Billions (2016 – Present)Set in the world of New York high finance, a shrewd, savvy US attorney (Paul Giamatti) and a brilliant, ambitious hedge-fund manager (Damian Lewis) try to outmanoeuvre each other in this slightly-soapy and larger-than-life drama about greed, power and competition.
- Boardwalk Empire (2010 – 2014)A look at the 1920s Prohibition era — ban on alcohol — in the US, through the eyes of an Atlantic City, New Jersey politician (Steve Buscemi) playing both sides of the law. Consistently praised across its five-season run for the acting of its ensemble, its terrific realisation of the period, and the shades of grey amongst its characters.
- Escape at Dannemora (2018)Benicio del Toro and Patricia Arquette lead the excellent cast of this seven-episode miniseries — directed by Ben Stiller — about a real-life prison escape, involving two convicted male murderers and a married female prison employee, all of whom were romantically and sexually entangled. It’s a slow-burner but rewarding.
- Euphoria (2019 – Present)Based on an Israeli miniseries of the same name, it follows a group of high school students — with Spider-Man star Zendaya in the lead — as they struggle with drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love, and friendship. It’s not an easy watch, mind you, but it’s full of empathy.
- Feud: Bette and Joan (2017)The backstage rivalry between actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis during the production of a film in early 1960s serves as the focal point for this anthology series — from Ryan Murphy — which explores ageism, sexism, and misogyny in their struggle to hold onto fading fame.
- Gentleman Jack (2019 – Present)Set in the 19th century, it tells the story of English land-owner and industrialist Anne Lister (Suranne Jones), who documented a lifetime of lesbian relationships in secret code in her diaries. Jones’ performance was praised, although critics felt the series isn’t as unapologetically progressive as the protagonist.
- I May Destroy You (2020)A “millennial icon” and first-time novelist (Michaela Coel, also creator and writer) attempts to piece together a night she can’t recall with the help of her two best friends: a struggling actor and a gay man. Explores sexual consent in a post-#MeToo era.
- In Treatment (2008 – Present)A 50-something psychotherapist (Gabriel Byrne) sees different patients every day of the week and his own therapist at the end of the week in this remake of the Israeli series BeTipul that ran for more episodes — 130 across four seasons so far — than most HBO series do. Each episode is a new session. Irrfan Khan was one of the patients on season 3. Uzo Aduba took over lead role in season 4.
- John Adams (2008)Paul Giamatti played the titular second president of the United States in this seven-part miniseries — directed by Tom Hooper — which chronicled his political and personal life from the pre-Independence times in 1770 Boston through to his death in 1826. Praised for its visuals though criticised for its casting choices, it won more Emmys than any miniseries to date.
- The Knick (2014 – 2015)Steven Soderbergh directed all 20 episodes of this look at New York hospital at the start of the 20th century, told through the viewpoints of a chief surgeon and a drug addict (Clive Owen), and the assistant chief-surgeon (André Holland) who fights racism within the staff and the city. Kicked off in style, and considered to have improved in year two.
- Mildred Pierce (2011)Kate Winslet swept the awards circuit for her performance in the titular role of an overprotective, self-sacrificing divorced single mother of two kids, who opens a restaurant and tries to win over her spoiled, narcissistic, ambitious elder daughter during the Great Depression. Based on James M. Cain’s 1941 novel of the same name, to which it stuck a little too close.
- The Night Of (2016)Riz Ahmed stars as a Pakistani-American student in this eight-part miniseries, who is charged with a woman’s murder after a night of partying mysteriously goes awry, of which he has no recollection. Less a crime drama and more an indictment of the US criminal justice system.
- Olive Kitteridge (2014)Frances McDormand played the titular cantankerous but well-meaning retired mathematics schoolteacher in this miniseries adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which offered a look at 25 years of her life in a small town in the northernmost state in eastern USA. A slow-burner filled with great performances, including McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Ann Dowd, and Bill Murray.
- Patrick Melrose (2018)Based on Edward St Aubyn’s semi-autobiographical novel series, this five-part miniseries finds Benedict Cumberbatch playing the titular wealthy Englishman battling multiple addictions, and childhood abuse and neglect from the 1980s to the 2000s. Critics said it offered “a scathing indictment of British high society’s inherited dysfunction, cruelty, and the wealth that enables them”.
- The Plot Against America (2020)The latest series from The Wire creator David Simon is based on Philip Roth’s 2004 eponymous novel and looks at an alt-history USA where xenophobic populist Charles Lindbergh becomes President in 1941 and steers the country towards fascism. Praised for its timely message in the political parallels it draws with Trump’s America and for the performances of its ensemble cast.
- Pose (2018 – 2021)Set in 1980s New York, this dance-musical drama — co-created by Ryan Murphy — explores several parts of society: the ball-culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe and the downtown social and literary scene. Noted for its large transgender cast.
- Rome (2005 – 2007)The transition of Ancient Rome from Republic to Empire, that began in 52 BC under Julius Caesar and set the stage for civil war, explored through the eyes of two soldiers whose lives intertwine with major events in history. Ran for just two seasons due to costs.
- Show Me a Hero (2015)From the creator of The Wire, a six-part miniseries starring Oscar Isaac as Nick Wasicsko, the youngest big-city mayor in the US, who dealt with vociferous public opinion between 1987 and 1994, stemming from a court order that public housing should be built in the middle-class, mostly-white part of town. Addressing class and racism, it was timely and timeless.
- Six Feet Under (2001 – 2005)Oscar-winner Alan Ball created this macabre drama about a dysfunctional family running a funeral home in Los Angeles, with every episode opening with a fresh corpse that would have something to do with the Fisher family’s own problems. Filled with a superb cast, it tripped over itself in season 4, but recovered for a fitting swansong that boasts arguably one of the best series finales.
Gadgets
Microsoft Partners With Inworld to Bring AI Game Development Tools to Xbox
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” Haiyan Zhang, GM, Xbox Gaming AI, said in a blog post. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The aforementioned AI design copilot is a toolset that will help game designers turn prompts into scripts and dialogue trees. In contrast, the character runtime will enable dynamically generated plot beats and quests. We’ve already seen heavy AI integration in games by way of procedural generation — a more recent example being the 1000+ planets in Starfield. Not to mention, enemy AI has been around for way longer.
Inworld made headlines in August when it launched a modded story mode for Grand Theft Auto V, Sentient Streets, in which players had to investigate the rise of a bizarre AI-worshipping cult — a segment loaded with characters that spoke in AI-generated dialogue, on the fly. The mod was later taken down by publisher Take-Two, leaving a permanent strike on the creator Bloc’s YouTube channel. As per The Verge, Inworld’s AI technology can also be used for narration in top-down RPGs to warn players about any events awaiting off-screen and respond to questions like we’ve seen in the past year with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat. Microsoft has also been heavily banking on artificial intelligence, having made a $10 billion (about Rs. 83,254 crore) investment in OpenAI. The company has also integrated AI tools into its popular suite of services and also added an AI copilot to Windows.
Despite being a Microsoft-affiliated AI toolset, it would be interesting to see whether titles using them will be allowed to thrive on other platforms. In July, Valve claimed that it would be cracking down on games that included AI-generated assets if the developer didn’t own the copyright to the piece of art. For the uninitiated, when you insert a prompt to create something in AI, the software simply repurposes existing assets found online and mushes them together — basically stealing from other artists and writers without appropriate commercial licenses. Infringing them would lead to the game not being distributed on Steam, forcing the developers to seek proper licenses for the asset by reaching out to the AI companies involved. It’s unclear how Microsoft’s partnership will play out — as long as AI content is being used as a catalyst to innovate and create something new, it should be fine.
Gadgets
BSNL Offers Free 4G SIM Upgrade: Here’s How to Get It
In a post on X shared by BSNL’s Andhra Pradesh (@bsnl_ap_circle) unit, the company confirmed that BSNL users can upgrade their older 2G or 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM for free. Not only will the upgrade be free, but a promotional image shared with the post suggests that users who opt for the upgrade will also receive 4GB of free data that will be valid for three months. It is speculated that BSNL is aiming to boost its upcoming 4G services with this offer. The announcement was first spotted by Telecom Talk.
To access the free data offer and the free upgrade, BSNL users are requested to get in touch with executives at BSNL’s Customer Service Centre, franchisee or retailer stores, or contact one of their Direct Selling Agents (DSA). The promo image also adds in a finer print that the offer is available with certain terms and conditions, but hasn’t detailed any, so far.
Reliance’s Jio recently launched the 4G-supported Bharat B1 feature phone in India. The handset is priced at Rs. 1,299 in India. Alongside 4G connectivity, the phone comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn applications pre-installed.
The Jio Bharat B1 is equipped with the JioPay application, which is said to allow users to make UPI payments. Aiming to increase accessibility, the phone supports 23 languages overall, including multiple regional languages.
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Realme GT 5 Pro Teased to Feature 3,000 Nits Display; More Details Revealed
Realme, via Weibo, announced the arrival of the Realme GT 5 Pro in China. The display of the handset is confirmed to offer 3000 nits peak brightness. It has also been teased to offer heat dissipation with a surface area of around 10,000mm2. It is confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The post doesn’t specify the exact launch date of the smartphone, however, given the release of the teasers, the launch could be just around the corner.
The Realme GT 5 Pro has been in the news a lot lately. It is expected to feature a 6.78-inch (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display and is tipped to come in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM options along with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB inbuilt storage options.
For optics, the Realme GT 5 Pro is said to have a triple rear camera unit comprising two 50-megapixel sensors and an 8-megapixel shooter at the rear. The camera setup might include a Sony LYTIA LYT808 sensor, an OmniVision OV08D10 secondary sensor, and a Sony IMX890 telephoto sensor. For selfies, there could be a 32-megapixel sensor at the front. It is said to carry a 5,400mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is expected to come with upgrades over Realme GT 5. The latter was launched in China in August with a price tag of CNY 2,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
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