Popular daily soap ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ has made a spectacular comeback with its second season, broadcaster Star Plus said yesterday. In the launch week, the show clocked over 1.659 billion minutes of watch time across television and streaming platforms, while 15.4 million tuned in for the premiere episode.

The Ektaa Kapoor-created show, which returned on July 29, witnessed a massive response, drawing 31.1 million TV viewers in just four days, with 15.4 million tuning in for the premiere episode alone, a press release said, according to a PTI report from New Delhi.

This makes it the highest-rated fiction launch across general entertainment channels (GECs) in recent times and the biggest-ever GEC fiction debut across both television and digital in India, it added.

The show ranks ahead of ‘Yeh Rishta’ and, ‘Taarak Mehta…’ and topped the weekly television rating points (TRP) charts, jointly leading with ‘Anupamaa’ at a TRP of 2.3, according to data provided by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India.

It ranked ahead of ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ (2.0), ‘Laughter Chefs’ (2.0), and ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ (1.9), cementing its status as the most-watched fiction show of the week.

In the revival of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, the daily soap that once defined Indian prime-time television in the early 2000s, actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani returns as the iconic Tulsi Virani, joining a mix of familiar faces and fresh talent.

“The return of ‘Kyunki Saas…’ has proven that great storytelling never loses its power. We approached this launch with a two-fold vision: to reignite the deep nostalgia associated with one of India’s most iconic shows, while also crafting a contemporary storyline and viewing experience that resonates with today’s audiences.

“The record-breaking numbers across Star Plus reaffirm our belief in the timeless appeal of compelling narratives. This launch is a cultural moment that bridges generations, and we are proud to have delivered it to millions of homes across platforms,” Sumanta Bose, Head of Cluster, Entertainment (Star Plus and Bharat, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati), JioStar, said in a statement.

The show also generated significant online buzz, garnering over 17,300 mentions across social media platforms, according to the channel.