Amazon has unveiled a teaser for its first Indian original drama series, Inside Edge, which seeks to capitalize on the country’s national sporting obsession, cricket. The series will launch on July 10 and will stream on Prime Video worldwide in over 200 countries. Inside Edge follows the ups and downs of the fictional Mumbai Mavericks professional cricket team through a season of the Powerplay League, a fictional version of the lucrative Indian Premier League. According to Amazon, the series is set “in a landscape of conflicting interests, where selfishness is almost a virtue, where sex, money and power are mere means to an end.”
The series is executive produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar who head leading Bollywood banner Excel Entertainment. Its credits include Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya and last year’s Raees starring Shah Rukh Khan, among other titles.
Inside Edge is created by Karan Anshuman and stars Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Sanjay Suri, Angad Bedi, Tanuj Virwani, Siddhanth Chaturvedi, Sarah Jane Dias and Amit Sial.
Prime Video has 18 Indian originals at various stages of development via deals signed with a range of producers. In addition to Inside Edge, Excel has also been signed on to produce two other shows, Mirzapur and Made in Heaven.
Since the video giant launched in India last December, Amazon has been building on its local content offerings via a slew of licensing deals with leading banners to offer blockbuster movies covering Bollywood to regional cinema. In addition, Prime Video also offers a wide range of homegrown comedy content via stand-up specials featuring some of India’s leading comics.
Meanwhile, rival Netflix has also commissioned its first Indian series, Sacred Games, produced by Phantom Films, whose founders include well-known film-maker Anurag Kashyap. Phantom has also been signed by Amazon to produce two shows, Stardust and The Family Man.