EXCLUSIVE: After hitting top spot in 17 territories last month, a second season of Prime Video Indian gambling crime drama Matka King was odds-on, and the Amazon streamer has now played its hand.
The Vijay Varma-starring series has been commissioned for Season 2 after the first run became the service’s most-watched new scripted show of the past two years.
Set against the fast-changing backdrop of 1960s Bombay (now Mumbai), the series follows Varma as humble cotton trader Brij Bhatti, who transforms into a illegal gambling kingpin after starting a ‘Matka’ game that takes the city by storm and democratizes a terrain previously reserved for the rich and elite. As the game grows, Brij begins to change his morals as power, money and ambition take a hold.
No word on the second run’s plot, but Prime Video said in a statement: “The game of Matka is far from over, and neither is Brij Bhatti’s reign. Matka King Season 2 is where the real stake begins.”
Season 1 trended in the Prime Video Top 10 across 37 countries and ranked first in 17 countries within its opening week. The show launched globally on April 17.
Matka King is created and written by Abhay Koranne and Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, the latter of whom also directs. Season 1 was produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Popatrao Manjule, Gargi Kulkarni, Ashwini Sidwani and Ashish Aryan under the banners of Roy Kapur Films, Aatpat, and SMR Entertainment.
The eight-episode series was led by Varma, who starred alongside Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar, Siddharth Jadhav, Bhupendra Jadawat, and Gulshan Grover. The ensemble cast also included Bharat Jadhav, Girish Kulkarni, Jamie Lever, Kishor Kadam, Cyrus Sahukar, Arpita Sethiya, Sambhaji Tangade, Ishtiyak Khan, Sanjivv Jotangia, and Simran Ashwini.
Prime Video’s Indian service has become a huge driver for Amazon, with senior execs often citing the country as one of the biggest drivers of new subscribers. While Prime Video doesn’t reveal its subscriber numbers, estimates put paying customers at more than 20 million paying customers, making it a significant rival to Indian market leader JioHotstar. Earlier this year, Prime Video unveiled a 69-title originals slate, where Matka King was first revealed.
Yesterday, we were first with the news Prime Video had set a May 22 global release date for Indian courtroom thriller System.