Indian TV in October 2025: Big Drama Returns and Fresh Launches Lock Festive Slots

Mumbai, October 13, 2025 — General entertainment channels are sharpening their October slates with high-visibility launches, promos and time-slot reshuffles to ride the festive audience surge. Ekta Kapoor’s supernatural franchise Naagin dropped a fresh promo signaling the return with Season 7, while Star Plus and Colors lined up weekday dramas to capture early-evening and prime-access bands. Zee, meanwhile, has firmed up a late-October reality premiere to complement its fiction grid. 

‘Naagin 7’ promo primes a legacy comeback

A new teaser for Naagin 7 hints at “major twists,” renewing the franchise’s core promise of pulpy fantasy fused with melodrama. Though a telecast date isn’t in the promo, the network’s October push suggests rollout planning is underway, with the franchise expected to anchor weekend spikes once it returns. 

Star Plus opens October with a 7 pm weekday drama

Star Plus confirmed its new series “Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahi” premiered 7 October 2025 in the 19:00 IST slot on weekdays, replacing “Ishaani” which moved earlier. The scheduling underscores the channel’s effort to fortify early primetime as families tune in post-work and pre-dinner. 

Colors preps late-October fiction launch, tweaks slots

Colors is readying “Tu Juliet Jatt Di” for 27 October at 7:00 pm, accompanied by a light reshuffle that moves incumbent titles to accommodate the newcomer. The network has been iterating on early-evening sticks to build a stronger flow into its high-performing reality and late-primetime fiction hours. (Official grid teasers surfaced via the network’s social updates.) 

Zee locks a new Saturday reality to complement drama

Adding variety to the month’s rollouts, Zee TV dated “Ideabaaz” for Saturday, 25 October. While not a drama, the business-reality format is positioned to feed weekend sampling and cross-promote weekday fiction—Zee’s schedule has added multiple new soaps in recent weeks, and a marquee weekend title can lift tune-in across the grid. 

Regional TV events keep audiences engaged mid-month

In regional entertainment, Zee Marathi scheduled its annual awards broadcast for 11–12 October, a reliable mid-month tentpole that drives tune-in and social chatter for the network’s ongoing serials. Such specials often buoy subsequent weekday ratings by refreshing character familiarity and fan loyalty.

Why October matters for fiction launches

With festive holidays compressing audience availability, broadcasters chase habit formation quickly: an early-month start (like Star Plus at 7 pm) can lock repeat viewing before holiday travel begins; late-October launches (Colors) aim to inherit lifted HUT levels and roll momentum into November. Pairing a legacy return (Naagin 7) with fresh weekday offerings creates a portfolio hedge—legacy pulls appointment viewing while new soaps court sampling. 

The ratings puzzle: flow, counter-programming, and OTT spillover

Networks are also counter-programming against each other’s tentpoles and streaming premieres by staggering fiction against rival reality blocks and leaning on promos across owned IP. Weekend events (Zee Marathi Awards) and late-night reality (Zee’s Ideabaaz) serve as funnels into weekday serials. The renewed push for recognizable IP like Naagin suggests broadcasters still see franchise equity as the fastest path to sampling in a cluttered month. 

Bottom line: October’s TV playbook is classic but effective—return a proven franchise, seed at least one new weekday drama in early primetime, add a weekend spectacle, and time a second fiction launch at month-end. Expect more promos to drop as channels jostle for share through Diwali, with the next two weeks key to establishing which newcomers stick and which get shuffled. 

---

SRESTHA ROY - AUTHOR

Srestha is a film writer who explores cinema through sharp reviews, insightful news, and in-depth features. From the magic of the big screen to behind-the- scenes stories, she brings readers closer to the art and industry of film.