MUMBAI: Ready for a trip down Tele‑vision Lane? Indian TV networks are reaching for the rewind button, dusting off iconic serials from the 90s and 2000s and re-hashing them with a modern twist. From crime procedurals to kitchen politics, old favourites are back to reclaim viewer loyalty, and early signs suggest it’s working. From Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and CID to Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, broadcasters are betting big on nostalgia to revive TRPs. These revamped shows began dropping between December 2024 and July 2025 CID 2 returned last December, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 4 launched in June, and Kyunki 2 is all set to make its grand comeback come 29 July.
Why the flashback fix? For starters, the 25–45 age group grew up with these shows, making them more than just content, they’re memories. Channels are cashing in on this emotional bond to draw back viewers amid the OTT onslaught. Legacy titles offer not just a TRP rescue but a cost-efficient revival strategy complete with ready sets, familiar faces, and low marketing spends. As a source at Star India put it, it’s a smart way to “mitigate screen fragmentation.” Plus, the pandemic proved nostalgia’s power when Ramayan and Mahabharat re-aired, they smashed viewership ratings records, outpacing even fresh content.
Ormax Media head of business development for streaming, TV & brands Keerat Grewal said: “Over the past three to four years, shows with strong protagonists such as Anupamaa, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Ghum Hai Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein, and Kumkum Bhagya, have managed to sustain high viewership even across multiple leaps. This has been largely driven by the strong emotional equity their lead characters hold. The shows have skillfully introduced a new generation of characters who inherit familiar personality traits while addressing more contemporary issues, allowing the audience to feel a sense of continuity and evolution.
“The growing preference for shows with known characters and familiar storylines is not just a trend – it’s deeply rooted in how the human brain works. Neuroscience research shows that nostalgia and familiarity activate the brain’s reward centers, triggering comfort, trust, and emotional safety. Audiences are neurologically wired to return to content that evokes positive memories or past emotional resonance. That’s precisely what the return of a show like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi will tap into.”
Based on Ormax’s extensive tracking in the HGEC category, we know that the Kyunki brand still holds strong equity among viewers today. This is reflected in the exceptional performance of the show’s new promo on our proprietary awareness tracker Ormax Showbuzz. Within just two days of the promo’s release, the show has recorded unaided awareness levels typically seen only after three to four weeks of sustained marketing in this genre. The data underscores the power of nostalgia, combined with trusted storytelling and iconic characters, to drive early interest and engagement.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000–2008) is set to return with Smriti Irani reprising her iconic role of Tulsi on Star Plus. CID (1998–2018) made its way back in December 2024 with most of the original cast. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 4 debuted in June 2025, introducing a next-gen romance against a familiar emotional backdrop. Also making a play for comeback glory: Shaktimaan, slated for an audio reboot and a blockbuster film starring Allu Arjun; Aahat, the spooky staple now re-airing nightly; and evergreen titles like Khichdi, Office Office, Shrimaan Shrimati and Ramayan, all back on air or rumoured to be.
A JioStar spokesperson said, “Bringing back a show like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is not just hinged on nostalgia, it is a strategic storytelling move designed for today’s viewers. At Star Plus, we see legacy IPs as powerful cultural assets that can be reimagined to reflect today’s evolving values. By blending familiarity with freshness, we aim to bring together households, unite generations, spark new conversations and reaffirm the enduring relevance of stories rooted in family, identity, and resilience.”
A source at Balaji Telefilms revealed that the decision to bring back Kyunki wasn’t an easy one. The creator Ekta Kapoor initially resisted, reportedly saying, “You can’t compete with nostalgia. Why shake it up?”
One of the reasons she said yes, sources close to her say, is the creative challenge to make it connect with today’s evolved audience and make an impact by tackling issues which don’t find their way into the current roster of shows on air. (On a lighter note, it will give Balaji Telefilms an opportunity to take the show past a record-breaking 2,000 episodes; remember, it was taken abruptly off-air in its 1,833rd episode).
The clincher for the channel and OTT was not just ratings, it was legacy. Internal research commissioned had once shown that Kyunki helped amplify women’s voices in Indian homes. It tackled domestic abuse, ageism, and marital consent long before these were TV buzzwords.
The reboot, sources said, is less about chasing numbers and more about “reclaiming the power to reach millions and change mindsets.”
Sources familiar with the strategy at Star noted that Kyunki’s return serves both sentiment and business. “Broadcast reach is still far greater than OTT,” one executive explained. “Advertisers too have bought into the show because of its familiarity, going by the sponsors who have been tied up: Procter & Gamble (a classic soap advertiser), Colgate and Fortune Oil.”
They added that older viewers with their own families who first watched shows such as Kyunki as youngsters or young adults or are now settled, have disposable income, and more free time. “This group is now reachable again especially in slots like 10:30 pm,” said she.
With Kyunki, CID and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain leading the charge, the revival roster is far from done. Insiders suggest shows like Naagin, FIR, and Shrimaan Shrimati could be next in line. Meanwhile, connected TVs and Fast (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels are helping extend the reach of these classics into smaller towns and rural households, where smart TVs and budget broadband are becoming the norm.
Indian TV isn’t stuck in a time loop, it’s cleverly remixing the past. This wave of strategic nostalgia blends cultural memory with broadcast savvy, reminding us that some stories never really go out of style. In fact, they just get retold with better twists, lighting, cast and production values.
