Soon after Netflix announced Family Business as part of its Next on Netflix 2026 India slate, the upcoming corporate drama started being compared to global shows like Succession and Billions. Director and co-producer Hansal Mehta has now addressed this debate, strongly rejecting the similarities and calling them “lazy comparisons”.
Exclusive: Hansal Mehta stops succession parallels for family business; This is called “lazy comparison”
Responding to the initial reactions, Mehta said, “Lazy comparison. Liking the likes of Succession or Billions doesn’t make every story about power or families a remake. It’s like calling every crime saga The Godfather, or every political drama House of Cards.”
He said that although a corporate setting may invite superficial similarities, a family business is neither inspired by nor adapted from succession. “A corporate backdrop may invite surface-level comparisons, but Family Business is not adapted, inspired by or remotely similar to Succession in its story, plot or characters. It is a completely original Indian series, drawn from the many Indian corporate battles and family dynamics unique to our culture,” Mehta said.
While acknowledging his admiration for international shows in this genre, Mehta clarified that the Netflix series stands on its own. “I’m a huge fan of both shows, but our show has its own identity, rooted in a very different socio-cultural, emotional and economic world.”
Family Business is billed as a high-stakes drama focusing on the corporate succession war within one of India’s most powerful business families. The story follows a visionary billionaire who chooses a successor, but months later to regain control, a brutal battle for power begins marked by betrayal, broken alliances and long-buried secrets.
Created by Hansal Mehta and Niren Bhatt and directed by Mehta, the series is produced by Abundantia Entertainment and True Story Films. The cast includes Anil Kapoor, Vijay Verma, Akash Khurana, Rhea Chakraborty, Neha Dhupia, Anant Nag, Kanwaljit Singh, Raima Sen, Madhu Shah and others.
Already sparking debate since its announcement, Family Business is set to arrive on Netflix in 2026.
