Netflix India's critically acclaimed survival drama series, ‘Kaala Paani’, has reportedly hit a pause button. PeepingMoon.com has exclusively learned that the second season of Sameer Saxena’s series — starring Mona Singh, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Sukant Goel — has been scrapped by the streaming giant, just months before production was set to begin.

Details as to what exactly led to ‘Kaala Paani Season 2’s sudden cancellation are yet unclear, but industry sources are citing “budgetary constraints” as the primary reason. “The show required a substantial budget to match the envisioned scale, but Netflix is believed to have declined to approve the proposed funding. Sameer Saxena and his team tried to convince the Netflix team and were in discussions with them over budget for over a month, but they couldn’t reach a consensus, eventually shelving the project. Saxena is said to have informed the cast and crew about the cancellation just yesterday,” a source close to the development told us. 

Over the past two years, Netflix India and other major OTT platforms in the country have significantly reduced their content budgets. They are either cutting their per-series budgets or are negotiating with producers to lower costs of their projects, with some even asking them to create the same show at half the originally agreed price. The cancellation of ‘Kaala Paani Season 2’ is believed to be a casualty of this industry-wide financial tightening, driven by a combination of underperforming theatrical films, declining subscriber numbers, and fears of an impending global recession.

Although Netflix India has previously cancelled several shows and films, ‘Kaala Paani’ is among the few projects to be axed even after receiving an official renewal and creative approvals, underscoring the platform’s increasingly cautious approach to content investment in the current economic climate. The show was greenlit for a second season just a month after it premiered in late 2023, following widespread acclaim for its compelling writing and outstanding performances, establishing it as one of Netflix India’s best-scripted series of the year. 

The cancellation of the show comes just days before the team was scheduled to begin pre-production on May 1st. The cast and crew were finalized, and shooting was supposed to begin in August 2023, but all those plans have now been abandoned as the show is no longer moving forward.