This year, Big Boss 11 grabbed eyeballs because of its high voltage drama. In terms of the actor, I feel Jennifer Winget gave a fantastic performance in her show Beyhadh on Sony Entertainment Television. Besides the evergreen saas-bahu saga, shows like Beyhadh have paved the ways for crisp, realistic and fresh storylines. 2017 has been the year of seasons on TV with shows like Naagin2 and laado: Veerpur Ki Mardani coming up. The trend continues into 2018 with Hum Paanch. The longevity of shows  decreased. Content became king this happening year.

— Ridheema Tiwari, last seen in Agent Raghav

For me, 2017 was all about newcomers and their brilliant performances, new producers creating history and TV shows known for good content. Super Dancer & Dance Champions threw up some amazing talent. I’m a dancer and these show surprised me with their unique participants. I realised that the great power to connect with a lot of people is by making a show on authentic and simple subjects, be it in movies, web series or TV. Few shows had logic and few just lost it! That’s a fact but people watch them all, so no harm at all. Moreover, stereotypes exist because people watch it and like it. I wish all kinds of audiences are entertained by our job. In 2018, I don’t want to see a change, I want to see growth.

— Avika Gor, who plays Anushka in laado: Veerpur Ki Mardaani

The biggest highlight of this year was my wedding with Haarsh limbachiyaa (laughs). From the shows, I liked Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 as it had amazing contestants. I also liked The Kapil Sharma Show. Kapil is one of the best people to work with because he lets you do things your way which brings out the best in you. We also saw small shows doing well and having a longer run than the big ones despite popular faces. After the Padmavati controversy, the artists feel a little unsafe when we receive threats from the audience whom we entertain. When this happens, we don’t feel good. I hope to see more variety of concepts rather than a single topic being done to death.

— Bharti Singh, who was part of The Kapil Sharma Show

Zee TV’s rebranding — Aaj likhenge Kal — was a highlight for me. It captures the spirit of the middle class and makes them aspire to control their destiny. Serials became more colourful and lively. Melodrama was less as compared to what it used to be before. This year’s serials were more relatable and realistic. Of course, the drama will always be there but it is not all about drama now. One thing which I would want to change in 2018 would be, portraying the lady lead as a victim and show that the world is always behind them. Serials need to stop using this to pull in their audience. Even though we have come a long way in changing this stereotype, it’s still a long way ahead

— Kinshuk Mahajan, who  plays Aarav Randhawa in Bhootu

The boundaries between cinema and TV diminished and many actors from TV did well in films and vice-versa. My show Kundali Bhagya stood out with its enormous rise from the time of its conception. My co-star Shraddha Arya is doing a brilliant job. Shabbir Ahluwalia, too, is rocking it. This year, TV shows came up with strong content and something that was relevant to today’s world. Reality shows became bigger and the quality of talent in all reality shows went up like a rocket. 2017 taught us to be more open to finite series.

— Dheeraj Dhoopar, who plays Karan luthra in Kundali Bhagya

The biggest highlight of the year has to be the question around the popular catchphrase “Sahi pakde hain”. Really! Who says thisIJ! From the audience perspective, Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain stood out this year, and from the past three years, we’ve maintained the consistency. I believe the quality of content needs to improve. We still tend to make saas-bahu shows. I’ve seen shows which start with a great concept. Unfortunately, after a month or two, the storyline moves to kitchen politics which leads to low TRPs. Owing to this, the writers don’t get the creative freedom which is required to retain strong concepts. I hope to see some new and enervating concepts and content.

 — Shubhangi Atre, who plays Angoori in Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hain

What makes comedy shows a winner are characterisation, dialogues and execution. Take, for example, Bhabhi Ji Ghar Pe Hain. The characters are well etched, everyone is different from each other and each one has a distinct place in the show. The dialogues are well-written — they celebrate the beauty of Hindi-Urdu and local dialect.

Whenever I get time, I watch news or Friends. Though I have seen it a zillion time, it still brings a smile to my face. I also like Sherlock and Suits. In the Hindi segment, Kaun Banega Crorepati was the best.

I don’t like doing caricature acting. I like realistic and  spontaneous acting.

 — Soumya Tandon, who plays Anita in Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hain