Ridden with cautionary tales and faith-restoring plotlines, 2024 gave us a bounty of dramas that have raised expectations for what's to come next. With love stories being redefined, family dynamics reassessed, many of our favourite serials from last year broke new ground in terms of highlighting tabooed topics and quality storytelling.
Now with the start of 2025, the small screen is already packed with a generous set of stories, boosting all that is yet to come. While we await these releases and keep an eye out for television's next jewel, let's look at how dramas can expand more on some treasured themes in the months to come.
Tales of love to root for
If this wasn't the highlight of 2024's television releases, there is no telling what was. Among other portrayals, this theme was beautifully depicted in Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, which gave us the tumultuous yet blinding flame of Mustafa and Sharjeena's connection.
In poetic harmony with the duo's own unexpected devotion to each other, it is difficult to pin when and how exactly the viewers fell in love with the two. Was it, perhaps, through the undeniable spark of chemistry during their first scene together? Or was it the fact that they worked through the prickly beginnings of their arrangement before easing into affection that the audience embraced without a question?
Or maybe it was just the gentle portrayal of love against the violent tides of a challenging journey that lodged an arrow deep into our hearts. Whatever the case, the central focus of the Fahad Mustafa and Hania Aamir starrer resonated strongly with viewers across the country and the globe.
While Musjeena's story need not be replicated to serve formulaic temptations, much can be learned from it. Perhaps, a similar story about star-crossed lovers could prove competent – something reminiscent of timeless Shakespearean tragedies. To offer another example, elderly love is also a vast domain to explore. A knot strengthened with time because of how securely it binds the household together? Yes, please.
However creators choose to weave them, they can never go wrong with honest depictions of love. And yes, if Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum has taught us anything, it's that such a narrative must include the stiffening downsides of a lifelong attachment without the violence of power dynamics spoiling it.
Women in the driver's seat
After being exposed to a deluge of female animosity, especially over fickle ideals of love, Noor Jahan's multifaceted take on the trope wafted past audiences like a breath of fresh air. Yes, the central villain was indeed a woman – the monster-in-law, if you will – but that was the serial's clever way of staying true to its main theme of womanhood.
Aside from the commanding matriarch, we had the clashing Noor Bano as the foil or the unsubdued step towards some satisfying comeuppance. Through this dramatic conflict, the serial tackled overbearing family dynamics and generational trauma with due grace, all while infusing its female characters with distinct depths of personality.
Each daughter-in-law stood for a particular aspect of family politics that many of us are familiar with. From the shrewdly self-possessed Safina to the desperately compliant Sumbul, every bahu represented truths about domesticity that are often swept under the rug along with the feelings of the women involved.
What really sells this portrayal is that none of the bahus are depicted as evil women or forces threatening the integrity of the household. What's more is that, instead of causing the predictable rift, these shared struggles unify them. Even Maha, who could've easily fallen prey to the 'other woman' trope, is accorded empathy that is rare and all the more treasured.
Only those with hearts of stone can dismiss how this sisterhood sets the show alight in the best of ways. Of course, anyone can be prone to jealousy. The serial doesn't shy away from that, either. But it offers room for growth and perseverance against naive emotions.
Endearing depictions of female friendships are scarce. More so, when it comes to friendships between onscreen sisters-in-law. But Noor Jahan smoothed out pathways towards other such portrayals.
What remains to be seen is how well they'll be explored – perhaps, through age-old friendships or bonds that develop over time. However they grace on the small screen, here's to hoping that 2025 has an abundance of female friendships or even just unspoken solidarity between women in store.
Grey morality done justice
With the availability of villainous archetypes, it's easy to stumble into the black-and-white territory of characterisation. Although this year did give us villains with sensibility and happy endings that warmed our hearts, the soul still aches for characters that stay true to their ambitions all the way through, regardless of how right or wrong they might be.
Of course, in a sea of good and evil, viewers desire someone impactful to root for. But aside from the exemplary figures, sometimes all we want is someone who steals the show due to just how unapologetic they are. Take Rubab from Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum as an example. Was she entitled? Yes. Did she deliver defenses in the form of brazen yet amusing dialogues that cemented her as one of the serial's most memorable characters? Also, yes.
Truth be told, as viewers, we invite range that keeps things unpredictable. While a fear of the plot losing direction is a genuine concern, if creators know exactly how to evade absurdity then we get a story worth remembering for a long time. It all boils down to how creative a drama is willing to get.
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