The fourth season of Applause Entertainment's Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, starring Pankaj Tripathi, has become the most-watched show in India for two weeks straight. The show, which premiered on JioHotstar, garnered 10.3 million views during the week of June 2-8, 2025.
Criminal Justice: A Family Matter has outperformed several popular original shows, including Heartbeat Season 2, Hai Junoon: Dream. Dare. Dominate, and Kankhajura. The show also achieved a record for the highest opening viewership for any OTT original on pay/freemium platforms on JioHotstar in 2025, with 8.4 million views upon its release.
In this season, Pankaj Tripathi reprises his role as Madhav Mishra, a defense lawyer involved in a complex murder case. The show also features Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, and Shweta Basu Prasad. Criminal Justice: A Family Matter is produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India and directed by Rohan Sippy.
Applause Entertainment's social media page shared the show's success with the caption, "2 Weeks. 1 Verdict. India's Most-Watched Series. Criminal Justice: A Family Matter now streaming only on @jiohotstar Catch a new episode every Thursday.”
Despite the release of four episodes, with new episodes unveiled weekly, viewers eagerly anticipate more content. The series' engaging narrative and suspenseful storytelling have cultivated a dedicated following, with active discussions about plot developments on social media.
Sameer Nair, Managing Director of Applause Entertainment, stated that Criminal Justice is one of the most cherished franchises in the Hindi streaming space and that the record-breaking opening of season 4 is a proud milestone.
Pankaj Tripathi shared that his character, Madhav Mishra, has become so popular that every season revolves around him. He added that in the latest season, the story takes a sharp turn just when the viewer thinks they have figured it out.
The Indian OTT market continues to expand, with millions of users accessing these platforms daily. Disney+ Hotstar leads the Indian OTT platform landscape with over 100 million active subscribers, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Netflix with approximately 65 million and 50 million subscribers, respectively.
