Tamil television drama

Tamil television drama or Tamil serials are a genre of Tamil-language television produced in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. All major TV networks in India. produce a variety of Soap opera series including family drama, comedy, romance, history stories, horror, devotional, fantasy stories and many others.

Tamil serial started to broadcast television series in the 1990s. Today's format of 100–500 episodes started in the 2000s. The television series industry has played a pivotal role in increasing Tamil popularity in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Tamil diaspora. They are also broadcast in other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and North America.

They are usually shown on Tamil television channels and start at 12 pm to 3 pm (afternoon), 6 pm to 8 pm (evening) and 8 pm to 11 pm (primetime and night). A series will run for about 3 or 4 years. It may air 5 or 6 episodes a week, the pattern usually being Monday through Friday or Monday through Saturday.

Anandham (2003–2009) was the first Tamil TV drama to cross 1,000 episodes and concluded with 1,297 episodes. Kolangal (2003–2009) was the first Tamil serial to cross 1,500 and Chandralekha (2014-2022) was the first Tamil serial to cross 2,000 and concluded with 2315 episodes.

Mayavi, It was the first Indian & Asian 3D series. Nadhaswaram, This serial on 5 March 2014 achieved the feat of being the first TV drama in Indian and Tamil television to be aired live. This was done to commemorate the show's 1000th Episode on 5 March 2014. By airing a 23-minutes 25seconds long live telecast in a single shot, the TV drama has earned a place in the Guinness World Records. Marmadesam, was an extremely successful tele-serial. It was ranked first in viewership among the television programmes telecast from Chennai in 1997. Chithi, It holds the credit of most watched regional Language television program in India ever.

History
The first Tamil languages TV show was Oliyum Oliyum. It was movie song compilation program on television popular during the 1980s.

Tamil Nadu
Tamil television serials are usually helmed by one director, written by one screenwriter, thus having a distinct directing style and language, unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together. Series are likely to have only one season, with 1–500 or 1–1000 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 100 to 200 episodes, but they also run for only one season.

The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 12 pm - 3 pm to 6 pm - 11 pm, with episodes on 5 to 6 consecutive nights : Monday–Friday or Monday–Saturday and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, Sun TV,  Zee Tamil, Kalaignar TV,  Colors Tamil, Zee Tamizh, Jaya TV, Raj TV, Polimer TV, Puthuyugam TV,   Vendhar TV, Mega TV, Makkal TV, DD Podhigai, Dramas in prime slots are in the telenovella format, rarely running over 500 episodes.

Sun TV channel consistently remains the top rated Tamil channel and one of the top rated Indian television channel.

Singapore and Malaysia
The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 22:00 to 23:00, with episodes on Four consecutive nights: Mondays to Thursday, Friday, and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks MediaCorp Vasantham, Astro Vaanavil, TV2 and Astro Vinmeen HD.

Most Malaysian and Singapore produce a variety of Drama series including Comedy Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Teen and fantasy. Series are likely to have one to three season, with 1–80 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 1 to 16 episodes, they also run for one to three season.

Some popular contemporary dramas in Singapore include: Vettai, Nijangal, Vettai: Pledged to Hunt, Sundharam Kudumpathinar, Annamalai, Ragasiyam, Vetri.

Some popular contemporary dramas in Malaysia include: Kalvanai Kandupidi, Manmadha Bullets, Avatharam, Zombie Kadhali, Pasanga series.

Sri Lanka
The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 19:00 to 21:00, with episodes on weekends nights. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks Shakthi TV and Nethra TV. Sri Lankan Tamil channel Shakthi TV, Vasantham TV and Nethra TV channels aired syndicated television shows from Indian Tamil language, and has been well received.

The first serial produced in Jaffna was Marmakkulal. It was premiered on 2017 aired on IBC Tamil. This Show was produced by IBC Tamil and director by Apayan Ganesh. It was first Tamil languages series from Sri Lanka aired more than 100 Episodes.

Some popular contemporary Original dramas include: 7K, Chinnathirai, Gowthami.

Contemporary series
Series set in contemporary times usually run for one season, for 100–1000 episodes of 22 minutes. They are often centered on a family story, with love ties and relationships being in the focus. Characters are mostly idealised, with Tamil female protagonists described as the ideal women, and can focus on ethics and social issues in rural areas. The daily dramas are also usually set in contemporary times, describing a family conflict or family relationships, centered on Tamil women, who sacrifice themselves for family happiness.

Some popular contemporary dramas include: Chiti, Anandham, Kalki, Kasalavu Nesam, Annamalai, Metti Oli, Thangam, Thirumathi Selvam, Deivamagal, Kolangal, Azhagi, Athipookal, Uyirmei, Sembaruthi, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu, Thendral, Kana Kaanum Kaalangal, Office, Madhurai, Marmadesam, Kadhalikka Neramillai, Nandini, Nayagi, Chinna Papa Periya Papa, Nadhaswaram, Sathya, Azhagiya Tamil Magal and Roja.

Music
Theme music and background music sets the overall tone of the Tamil series. Most series will start off with one to three minutes of opening theme music during the opening credits. Other series will have at the very least a catchy melody in the beginning, displaying the drama's name that lasts a few seconds, and then one to two minutes of ending theme background music during the closing credits. Background music is placed and used at strategic points of the episode to set the mood of that particular show.

Original soundtracks (OSTs) are made specifically for each series and play an important role in Tamil dramas (mostly in Singapore and Malaysia). They are generally recorded by professional playback singers and tend to enhance the reputation and popularity of dramas. OSTs help to heighten a situation, accentuate a mood, provide relief, or serve as background to an interior monologue.

Production
They are often mass-produced under large production banners, with companies like AVM Productions, Saregama, Radaan Mediaworks, Vikatan Televistas, Global Villagers, Venus Infotainment, Avni Telemedia, Balaji Telefilms, In House Productions, Kavithalayaa Productions, Vision Time India Private Ltd., Thiruselvam Theatres, Sathya Jyothi Films, running different language versions of the same serial on different television networks or channels.

Actors and actresses
In the 2000s, it become customary to cast popular Kollywood Actors mostly Actress in series. Initially, this generated mixed reactions. It has been the normal in the Tamil television industry for actresses who initially played heroines in Kollywood films to get after married acting in Television serials such as Radhika Sarathkumar, Khushbu, Devayani, Ramya Krishnan, Meena, Mounika, Kutty Padmini, Gautami, Sukanya, Sri Priya, Kausalya, Ranjitha, Sanghavi, Archana, Nalini, Nirosha and Sonia Agarwal. Also, if an actress acts in a TV series, she has lost her name as a film actress (Big Screen) and some criticized her as a small screen actress. Also differences between small screen and big screen were seen in 2000s.

Nowadays, this has become a very common feature in Tamil dramas as the public does not differentiate between a film actress and a television actress. And some small screen actresses have also found success by playing heroines in films. Their critical reception is still mixed, however, some of them, like Devadarshini, Sivakarthikeyan, Nivetha Thomas, Santhanam, Vijay Sethupathi, Priya Bhavani Shankar and Vani Bhojan, became successful as Film actors and actresses.

There were also instances of children taking up careers as child actors or actresses. Actors who played child actors grow up to play lead roles or supporting roles in television series. such people include actress like Sujitha, Neelima Rani, Hemalatha, Raveena Daha, Gabriella Charlton and Sreethu Krishnan.

Directors and scriptwriters
Directors and scriptwriters of Tamil dramas are rarely as well known as actors are. An overwhelming majority of scriptwriters and directors are men. who mostly only write about women subject stories.

In the starting Time, Most of Television director coming from film industry. such people include directors like K. Balachander, who directed more than 20 series (Rayil Sneham, Jannal, Premi, Shanthi Nilayam, Anni); Balu Mahendra, the director of Kathai Neram; Sundar K. Vijayan, the director of Guhan, Kadavulukku Kobam Vandhadhu, Alaigal, Annamalai, Lakshmi, Muthaaram; Bharathiraja, the director of Thekkathi Ponnu, Appanum Aathalum and Muthal Mariyathai.

In the 2000s, many new male and female directors made their debut. Acknowledged TV directors include Thirumurugan, who directed and writer Metti Oli, Nadhaswaram, Kula Deivam and Kalyana Veedu; V. Thiruselvam who directed and writer Kolangal, Madhavi and Ethirneechal. Thirumurugan and V. Thiruselvam was also propelled to fame through his works Metti Oli and Kolangal & Ethirneechal, which became one of the highest rated dramas in Tamil Television history. Naga, the director of Marmadesam, Chidambara Rahasiyam and Ramany vs Ramany.

Some female directors have risen to prominence, such as Kutty Padmini, She directed, writer and product more than 50 series (Kittigadu, Naveena Nakeeran, Kalasam, Suryaputhri, Romapuri Pandian, Ramanujar and Thenpandi Singam); Rohini, who directed Chinna Chinna Aasai, and Sripriya who directed Viduthalai. The most well-known producers include Actress Radhika Sarathkumar and Khushbu.

Streaming
Tamil streaming opened in the late-2010s. They are Hotstar (Later Disney+ Hotstar), Sun NXT, Voot, ZEE5, YuppTV, MX Player, SonyLIV, aha Tamil and ALTBalaji.

Hotstar (Disney+ Hotstar)
The first Tamil original Comedy drama for Hotstar, As I'm Suffering From Kadhal, aired on 16 June 2017. Triples became the second Tamil drama aired in the platform. Canadian remake, Vertige, of Tamil drama, Fall, ranked Top 5 in Indian.

Disney+ Hotstar is the also streaming platform to buy substantial amounts of Tamil television series. Kana Kaanum Kaalangal, November Story, Live Telecast are among the Disney+ Hotstar productions that gathered success in Tamil as well as many other Indian languages.

SonyLIV
Iru Dhuruvam was first Tamil original drama for SonyLIV, first season released on 29 September 2019 with nine episodes. second season was released on 24 February 2023 with ten episodes. SonyLIV is one of the streaming platform to buy substantial amounts of Tamil television series and films. Victim, Tamil Rockerz, Vaazhl, Kasada Tabara, Naduvan, Appathava Aattaya Pottutanga, Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam, Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum, Pandrikku Nandri Solli, Clap, Seththumaan and Anel Meley PaniThuli are among the SonyLIV productions that gathered success in India.

ZEE5
America Mappillai was first Tamil original drama for ZEE5, aired on 14 February 2018. Kallachirippu became the second Tamil category drama aired in the platform. The series was aired on 23 July 2018 and eventually ended up on 30 July 2018 with only 8 episodes.

In 2023 Ayali series was released on 26 January 2023, Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute gave 4 stars out of 5 and wrote "Ayali, despite a few flaws, is receiving the praise it well deserves. It gives hope that the Tamil web series genre will choose nuanced storytelling over trying to stretch out cinematic mass moments for its actors."

Netflix
Since late 2020s American streaming service Netflix has been producing original Tamil-languages dramas and movies available on its platform. Netflix created its first original Tamil anthology drama series, Paava Kadhaigal, with the release date on 18 December 2020.

Amazon Prime
In 2018 American streaming service Amazon Prime has been producing original Tamil dramas and movies available on its platform. Vella Raja was first Tamil original drama for Amazon Prime and aired on 2 December 2018. Breathe became the second Tamil-Hindi drama aired in the platform.

Suzhal: The Vortex, The first Tamil web series has been released on Amazon Prime Video in over 30 languages through subtitles and has been dubbed in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Turkish.

aha Tamil
In 2022 Akash Vaani, The first Tamil web series has been released on aha Tamil from 11 February 2022. Then Irai was released on 18 February 2022, Ramany vs Ramany 3.0 was released on 4 March 2022 and Kuthukku Pathu was released on 13 May 2022.

Broadcast
Tamil TV dramas are popular overseas in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. They are also broadcast in other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The popularity of Tamil TV dramas in India markets is on the rise. Tamil serials are also dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Odia and Marathi and most serials air with English, Sinhalese and Malay subtitles.

Kerala
In the Indian state of Kerala, Tamil series are popular and broadcast at prime time Kolangal, Aanandham, Nandini and Maya were aired on Surya TV.

Most Tamil series have been remade into on Surya TV, such as Parvathi in 2002 which was a remake of the serial Chithi, Nilavilakku a remake of Thirumathi Selvam, Aniyathipraavu a remake of Vanathai Pola, Sita Ramam a remake of Sevvanthi and Bhavana a remake of Kayal. Surya TV and Asianet Plus are examples of Malayalam television networks that airs Tamil series.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Tamil series have gained popularity and the Tamil series, Chithi, Kolangal, Aanandham, Selvi, Arasi, Annamalai,Vasantham, Surya, Pasam, Chellamay, Kalyanam, Lakshmi, Vani Rani, Nandini, Priyamaana Thozhi and Maya were aired on Gemini TV, RVS TV, Zee Telugu and Vanitha TV.

Most Tamil series have also been remade into Telugu language versions such as Devatha which was a remake of the serial Thirumathi Selvam, Aparanji a remake of Thangam, Sravani Subramanyam a remake of Thendral, Jabilamma a remake of Deivamagal, Saadhana a remake of Kayal, Uppena a remake of Ethirneechal and Geethanjali a remake of Sevvanthi.

Karnataka
Tamil series have also been remade into Kannada versions such as Rangoli was a remake of the serial Kolangal, Chikamma a remake of Chithi, Bangara a remake of Thangam, Thangaali a remake of Thendral, Mangalya a remake of Metti Oli, Chandra Chakori a remake of Deivamagal, Janani a remake of Ethirneechal, Sangarsha a remake of Ayutha Ezhuthu and Sevanthi a remake of Roja. The Udaya TV and Star Suvarna channels air Tamil series remade in the Kannada language.

The first Tamil TV series broadcast on 2021 in Karnataka after long time was Ee Bandhana (dubbed version of Magarasi) on Udaya TV, Then Nannaseya Hoove (dubbed version of Poove Unakkaga) aired.

West Bengal
Tamil series Nandini, Maya, Arundhathi, Mishti O Ami, Laxmi Store, Bidhilipi and Onno Roope Nandini, were broadcast on Chennai-based Sun TV Network group started a Bengali GEC named as Sun Bangla on 2 February 2019. which also broadcasts in India and Bangladesh.

Pandian Stores was remade on 31 August 2020 on Star Jalsha, one of the leading Bengali-language television channels in India, under the name Bhaggolokkhi.

Maharashtra
Tamil series have also been remade into Marathi. The Chennai-based Sun TV Network group started a Marathi GEC named as Sun Marathi in January 2021. It will be Sun group's fourth entry in South Indian market. shows like Nandini been dubbed in Marathi language to reach towards peoples of Maharashtra.
 * Marathi-language

Tamil series have also been remade into Marathi versions such as Premas Rang Yave in 2023 which was a remake of the serial Anandha Ragam and Shabbas Sunbai a remake of Ethirneechal.

Chithi drama was The first Tamil TV series was remade in Hindi language as Chhoti Maa...Ek Anokha Bandhan aired on Zee TV on 3 August 2001. Then Pavitra Rishta a remake of Thirumathi Selvam, Maayke Se Bandhi Dor a remake of Kolangal, Shubh Vivah a remake of Metti Oli, Pandya Store a remake of Pandian Stores, and Pyar Ka Pehla Naam: Radha Mohan a remake of Yaaradi Nee Mohini.
 * Hindi-language

Odisha
The first Tamil TV series broadcast in Odisha was Perazhagi. The show was renamed as Labanya and it aired on Colors Odia. Then Maangalya Sandhosham aired. Mu Bi Ardhangini, an Odia language adaptation of the Tamil drama series Yaaradi Nee Mohini, was released on 9 July 2018 on Zee Sarthak.

Bhojpuri language
Bandhan Toote Na, Bhojpuri language remake of Tamil drama, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, aired on Zee Ganga on 20 September 2021 to 18 November 2022.

Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka Tamil channels air Tamil series, and also dub and subtitle in the Sinhalese language. The first Tamil Language serial to be dubbed in Sinhalese was Chithi. Tamil television series are extremely popular in Sri Lanka, with ratings higher than the traditional Tamil Nadu TV series that Sri Lankan Tamils watched. Most Tamil serial airs in Tamil language with Sinhalese subtitle.

Singapore and Malaysia
In Singapore and Malaysia Tamil Channel airs Tamil Series and subtitle in the English and Malay languages. Among the most popular series are Vettai, Nijangal, Ennuyire, Annamalai, Ragasiyam and Neeya.

Other countries
Tamil Series and television shows are also popular among the Tamil diaspora. Tamil television shows are aired on certain cable television channels in various countries such as the Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, South Africa, Réunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana, Burma, Trinidad and Tobago, the French West Indies, Western Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States.

As The Iron Handed Phantom – Mayavi, the series aired dubbed in South Korea, China (in Mandarin) and Australia. It also aired in Europe. It was also dubbed in other Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu, Gujarati and Rajasthani for all the others Indian channels.

In 2007 Mayavi won the Special Prize Award in the Drama category at the Seoul International Drama Awards.

Running time
An episode of a popular Tamil television drama from the 2000s is usually between 30 and 60 minutes in length (including advertisements), which is much longer than a typical episode of an Indian or Western European series.

Storytelling of Tamil TV series

 * Tamil TV series, especially Family and Melodrama series.
 * The leading roles do not die in Tamil TV series. When he dies, it means the series will end.
 * Most of Tamil TV series tell the story of Women's struggles.
 * Each episode of Tamil TV series is quite small, unlike East Asia and North American TV series of 20–22 minutes.¨Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, and ex-lover are bad-tempered people.
 * The poor are proud; the rich are arrogant. Even at home, the rich always appear with the perfect outfit and make-up.
 * Generally, TV series are shot in Filmset.

Ratings and viewership
Viewership ratings are provided by one companies in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry: Broadcast Audience Research Council. The company was incorporated in 2010. It is based in Mumbai, India.

By viewers

 * Chithi:
 * Chithi became one of the most watched Indian soap opera and most watched Tamil program at that time. In week 26 of 2000, it was one of the most watched Indian serial with 4.67 TVR. Overall in 2000, it was the seventeenth most watched Indian television program with 4.45 TVR. From 30 April 2001 to 6 May 2001 and the following week it was at fourth position in All TV homes ratings with 4.7 TVR.  On 3 October 2001, it garnered 5.55 TVR.
 * Metti Oli:
 * It garnered a peak rating of 50.3 points overall in its runtime. The final episode garnered 45 TVR for Sun TV.
 * Kolangal:
 * It was one of the highest-rated Indian and Tamil soap opera which garnered ratings ranging between 23 and 26 TVR. Between 20 December 2004 to 13 January 2005 it had a rating of 25.68 TVR. In September 2007, it maintained its top position with 21.58 TVR.
 * Ethirneechal:
 * Ethirneechal gradually gained more popularity and viewership in May 2023 by its screenplay, and mainly for the natural and realistic acting.The series attracted all age groups mainly 2k kids by its Powerful Storyline of Women Empowerment. Ethirneechal became popular by Late Marimuthu who played the Antoganist Role Adhigunasekaran (AGS) with Humour Sense. In June 2023, the series was the most watched Tamil-language television series with 11.55 TVR.In October 2023, it was at the peak ratings of 11.54 TVR. In Barc Era, This is the first ever Tamil Television Series to become No.1 in TRP ratings at 9:30 pm slot all over Tamil Nadu.

List of longest-running Tamil Language television series
This is a list of the longest-running Tamil Language television series, ordered by number of episodes the show has aired. This list includes only programs aired five years and above.