Prime Video on Thursday announced that a second season of its original drama series Matka King is currently in development following the strong response to the show’s debut season. Set in the rapidly changing landscape of 1960s Bombay, the crime drama explored themes of ambition, power and identity through the world of matka gambling.
According to Prime Video, Matka King emerged as the platform’s most-watched new scripted series in the last two years.
The first season of the eight-episode series was led by Vijay Varma, with Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar, Siddharth Jadhav, Bhupendra Jadawat and Gulshan Grover playing key roles. The ensemble cast also included Bharat Jadhav, Girish Kulkarni, Jamie Lever, Kishor Kadam, Cyrus Sahukar, Arpita Sethiya, Sambhaji Tangade, Ishtiyak Khan, Sanjivv Jotangia and Simran Ashwini.
Matka King was created and written by Abhay Koranne, while Nagraj Popatrao Manjule served as creator, writer and director for the series. The show was produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, Gargi Kulkarni, Ashwini Sidwani and Ashish Aryan under the banners of Roy Kapur Films, Aatpat and SMR Entertainment.
Vijay Varma broke out with his performance in Gully Boy (2019) and has since built a reputation for granular, character-forward roles. His streaming work, including turns in Jaane Jaan, Dahaad and IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, has been widely acclaimed, placing him alongside his FTII batchmate Jaideep Ahlawat. His performance in Matka King has further added to his plaudits
Season 1 of Matka King premiered on Prime Video on April 17 and is currently streaming. The Hollywood Reporter India said in its review, "The banner problem with Matka King is its sanitised reading of its main character. There’s something off about the way it positions the greyness of his hustle."
While the streamer confirmed that Season 2 is in development, further details regarding the plot, cast and release timeline are yet to be announced by the makers.
