'Ms. Marvel' To 'Rocket Boys', Web-Series That Ruled 2022

With plenty of new additions and also fond farewells, some of the series garnered huge amounts of views and popularity throughout 2022.

New Delhi: The year is coming to an end and so is another slew of web series. With plenty of new additions and also fond farewells, some of the series garnered huge amounts of views and popularity throughout 2022.

Let’s take a look at some of these shows which loomed the largest. 

1. Ms. Marvel 

Cast: Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff

Directors: Adil El Arbi, Billal Fallah

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy

Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan’s story, Iman Vellani’s debut role, about a young Pakistani-American who admires the Avengers - especially Captain Marvel. The six-episode series takes the viewer through Kamala’s existential quandary to finally accepting her new identity as she gains superpowers. Marvel found its way to tap into the representation of South Asian culture as well by showing the mosque, weddings, clothes and food by visiting Kamala’s ancestral home in her backstory. Along with Kamala’s journey of recognising her place in the world, the show also focuses on the changing dynamics with her parents - providing their characters with room for change and development rather than just painting them as two-dimensional figures. 

2. Moon Knight 

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy

Director: Mohamed Diab

Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Adventure 

Another MCU game-changer released this year, instead of the typical hero-villain trope, ‘Moon Knight’ focuses on Steven Grant’s (Oscar Isaac) dissociative identity disorder (DID) and gives insights about the mental illness. The protagonist struggles with his two identities - Steven Grant, a gift shop employee in the British Museum, and Marc Spector, the avatar of Egyptian moon god Khonsu who is a ruthless mercenary - as he navigates a mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt. The genre-bending series shifts from comedy to a psychological thriller to a fantasy adventure, which keeps the one on the edge of their seat at all times. With its exceptional performances and unpredictable storyline, ‘Moon Knight’ has become a fan favourite for many. 

3. All Of Us Are Dead

Cast: Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hu, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon, Yoo In-soo, Lee Yoo-mi, Kim Byung-chul, Lee Kyu-hyung, Jeon Bae-soo

Directors: Lee Jae-kyoo, Kim Nam-su

Genre: Thriller, Horror fiction

If you are a fan of the Korean movie ‘Train To Busan’, this series is a must watch as it reinvents the zombie genre. There could not have been a better timing to release ‘All Of Us Are Dead’, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, as Hyosan High School becomes the site of a virus-induced zombie outbreak and a group of high schoolers fight to survive in a zombie-infested city. There is a focus on the relationships between the characters as despair brings some together and also others apart. The group consists of students from different social classes, who are forced to come together considering the circumstances, trying to make it out alive but creating problems on the way too. The show is more than just zombies, blood and violence. It shows a father trying to save his daughter by any means, a school trying to sustain its reputation, childhood friends battling with their feelings for each other and the main characters’ still managing to fight through as they watch their loved ones turn into the (un)dead. Once you start watching this 12 hour long series, the central plot and various subplots will definitely keep one hooked!

4. Rudra: The Edge of Darkness

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Raashi Khanna, Esha Deol, Atul Kulkarni, Ashwini Kalsekar, Ashish Vidyarthi

Director: Rajesh Manpuskar

Genre: Crime, Psychological thriller, Action, Drama

Ajay Devgn made his OTT debut through ‘Rudra,’ the Indian adaptation of the British psychological crime thriller series ‘Luther.’ After his cop role in ‘Singham,’ Devgn continues to drag criminals by their collars but in a more urban and grim version. The protagonist, Rudraveer Pratap Singh, is a fearless cop who has been suspended for breach of conduct but continues to uncover twisted crimes happening in Mumbai while also fighting with his personal demons. As the show progresses, Rudra is actually shown as a layered individual who is trying to balance his failed marriage and professional life at the same time. The series has ample thrill, solid dialogues and action scenes - which aren’t too filmy. Although it is a little slow paced, a fan of action movies will definitely delve deep into this world. 

5. Mismatched (Season 2)

Cast: Prajakta Kohli, Rohit Saraf, Rannvijay Singha, Vidya Malvade 

Director: Akarsh Khurana, Nipun Dharmadhikari

Genre: Rom-com, Coming-of-age, Drama

Based on Sandhya Menon’s book, ‘When Dimple Met Rishi,’ season 2 of ‘Mismatched’ picks up right where the previous season left off. The protagonists - Dimple and Rishi - go through a rough patch in their relationship, caused by miscommunication and misunderstandings, while also forming new bonds. There is more emphasis on the rest of the cast as well since most of them have a character arc, which makes this season more satisfying to watch than the last one. Each episode has underlying themes which focus on issues like homophobia, bullying, the toxicity of social media, ableism etc. in a rather light-hearted but also serious way which produces situations which can be either relatable for the youth or a clichéd stereotypical situation. Even though the storyline gets overloaded at times, diverting attention from the main plot, ‘Mismatched’ is definitely an entertaining watch.

6. Stranger Things (Season 4)

Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Sadie Sink, Jamie Campbell Bower, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Brett Gelman 

Directors:The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy & others

Genre: Sci-fi, Horror, Mystery, Drama

Comprising two volumes, Stranger Things season 4 starts with the main cast split up into several groups in different locations. This season does not only predominantly focus on Jane’s, popularly known as Eleven, story but also a lot of other characters occupy screen space and time. With the introduction of several new faces, there are several subplots running throughout this season with unpredictable twists and turns. However, in volume 2, it all boils down to solving one main problem - Vecna - and when the action hits the story becomes more streamlined in focus and pace. The conclusion to this season is more heavy but definitely full of memorable scenes so do catch up on this series before the final season 5!

7. Heartstopper 

Cast: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Rhea Norwood, Kizzy Edgell

Director: Euros Lyn

Genre: Rom-com, Coming-of-age, Teen drama 

A sweet heartwarming adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series, ‘Heartstopper’ explores subjects of queer identity, love and friendships. The show progresses with the relationship between our protagonists - Charlie Spring, an openly gay student, and Nick Nelson, the star rugby player who is still figuring out his queer identity. Starting with an unrequited crush, which blossoms into friendship and eventually dating, this series tackles issues like discrimination, bullying and its effects on mental health as well. It successfully assimilates students exploring an umbrella of sexualities and queer identities within the school gates and hits the nail on the head when acknowledging the challenges faced by LGTBQ+ population.

8. Rocket Boys

Cast: Jim Sarbh, Ishwak Singh, Regina Cassandra, Saba Azad

Director: Abhay Pannu 

Genre: Drama, Sci-fi

Set in post-independent India, ‘Rocket Boys’ is the story of two extraordinary scientists - Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai - who dived deep into the world of space, nuclear energy and physics with the goal of sending a rocket into space someday. The series shows their stories beyond the name, fame and awards they achieved. It is a tale of friendship and resilience, the individual challenges faced by these men and how they tackled them, as well as the emotional turmoil which is not taught about in History. The presence of female figures in Bhabha and Sarabhai’s lives are also not disregarded. The immaculate casting and subtle wit laced dialogues, makes this show the most entertaining and knowledgeable History class.

9. The Sandman

Cast: Tom Sturridge, Boyd Holbrook, Patton Oswalt

Directors: Neil Gaiman & others 

Genre: Dark fantasy, Horror Mythology

Neil Gaiman’s popular comic book series finally came to our screens in August this year. It begins with a hubristic occultist trying to capture death, immersing the viewer immediately. Morpheus, the personification of dreams, is held captive and his kingdom is ruined which unleashes dreams and nightmares into the human world. Throughout the series, there is a switch between the mundane and mythical, between extreme violence and entertainment, which keeps the viewer hooked. Even if you are not familiar with the comic series, you can go into this web series blindly but with an open mind and innate curiosity. 

10. The Summer I Turned Pretty

Cast: Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, Christopher Briney

Director: Jenny Han

Genre: Coming-of-age, Romance, Drama

From the author of ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,’ ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is a light-hearted series exploring teenage romance. The inevitable cliche love triangle is brought in again, the base of every teen summer romance trope, between our protagonist and two brothers. Exploring race and ethnicity, with an Asian American female lead, and touching upon the LGBTQ community, the show also includes popular soundtracks and a lot of songs from Taylor Swift. From first love to first heartbreak, this web series is the perfect weekend watch if you want to unwind.