Netflix CEO Says Sacred Games Wasn't Right For India Debut: 'I Didn't Understand...'
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Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says launching Sacred Games early may have been a misstep.
When Netflix launched Sacred Games as its first Indian original, it was seen as a bold and game-changing move. The gritty thriller, starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed Indian shows on the platform. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, and based on Vikram Chandra's novel, the series opened the door to more daring content on Indian OTT. But looking back, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos thinks the platform may have gone too bold, too early.
Speaking on Nikhil Kamath's podcast, Sarandos explained that India was a unique and complex market for Netflix. He said, 'It took us a couple of years to get the product-market fit right. Our very first Indian original show was Sacred Games. And I thought, 'This is going to be great. People in India love movies. This is a TV show that feels as big as a movie, it has movie stars.' What's interesting about it is that it was very, very novel, but what I didn't understand that we were introducing a brand new kind of entertainment in a country the size of India."
He also reflected on the choice of content, suggesting that a more mainstream start might have helped Netflix connect faster with Indian audiences. 'For me, if I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later, and did things that were more populist (instead)? Maybe. But we knew that India was going to be a slower journey to get to where we wanted to get to. But it's a great prize, at the end of the day. The addressable market is growing in the next couple of years in India, so it's exciting."
Despite its initial impact, Sacred Games was never renewed for a third season. Co-director Anurag Kashyap opened up about what happened in a chat with Mashable India. He said, 'Vikram Motwane was driving Sacred Games. Ten days before I was supposed to go shoot Mukkabaaz, he asked me to come on board. I told him I was always interested, but they had a problem with me. Some local people had told them that I didn't have a female audience. It was my zone, and they eventually came around… A season three was supposed to come out, but they shut it down, Netflix would know why."
Kashyap later took a swipe at Netflix India in a social media post following the success of his indie film Adolescence. He criticised the platform's reluctance to back unconventional ideas, writing: 'Netflix India is a totally opposite sh**show. If they were pitched this, most probably they would have rejected it or turned it into a 90 minute film (that too seems like an impossibility because it doesn't have an ending that is black and white)."
With Sacred Games, Netflix made a powerful creative statement, but the lessons learned from its rollout—and cancellation—continue to influence how the platform navigates India's rapidly evolving streaming space.
First Published:
June 08, 2025, 09:06 IST
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