CID (Indian TV series)

CID is an Indian police procedural television series that premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 21 January 1998. The series was created by B. P. Singh and produced by Singh and Pradeep Uppoor under the banner of Fireworks Productions in season 1; Deepak Dhar, Rajesh Chadhaa and B.P. Singh under Banijay Asia in season 2. It featured Shivaji Satam as ACP Pradyuman, Aditya Srivastava as Sr. Inspector Abhijeet, Dayanand Shetty as Sr. Inspector Daya, Dinesh Phadnis as Inspector Fredricks and Narendra Gupta as Dr. Salunkhe.
The location of CID is set in Mumbai. The series is one of the longest-running television series in India. The series first premiered on 21 January 1998 and aired its 500th episode on 18 January 2008, 1000th episode on 13 September 2013, 1500th episode on 4 March 2018, last episode on 27 October 2018. CID garnered widespread national attention and developed a substantial following due to its distinctive storytelling and unique approach. It has been described as a cult classic by Firstpost.
The series renewed for a second season, which premiered on 21 December 2024. The second season also started streaming simultaneously on Netflix from 22 February 2025.
CID Special Bureau is an Indian Hindi spinoff series of CID created by Fireworks Productions for Sony TV. The series premiered on Monday, 3 January 2005, and ended on Thursday, 2 March 2006, with 168 episodes. The series aired on Monday and Tuesday nights, split each case into two episodes. Two cases of the series "Mad Bomber" and "Anokha Intequam" (Strange Revenge) had crossover episodes with CID. On 29 August 2005, the series aired 4 days a week on Monday to Thursday nights with each case split across four episodes. The running time of the series was 20–22 minutes. A repeat telecast of the series aired on 6 March 2006 and ended on 27 April 2006.
CID Chhote Heroes is another Indian Hindi sub-series of CID created by Fireworks Productions for Sony TV. The series premiered on Friday, 1 February 2013 and ended on Friday, 24 May 2013, with a total of 17 episodes. The series was aired on every Friday nights, with each case being shown in a single episode. Two cases of the series "Daya in Danger" and "Little Comedian Kidnapped" had crossover episodes with CID. The running time of the series was 40–42 minutes.
CID got into both the Limca Book of Records and the Guinness Book of World Records on 7 November 2004 for its record-breaking single shot episode of 111 minutes (1 hour and 51 minutes), entitled "The Inheritance" without a cut which writer – director – producer B. P. Singh feels "every Indian should be proud of because no one has achieved this before".
CID was created by producer B. P. Singh, who co-produced it with Pradeep Uppoor under Fireworks Production. Singh in an interview, said, "The premise was simple: Seven cops and one dead body. All our episodes are based around this fact." The second season of the show is produced by Deepak Dhar, Rajesh Chadhaa and B. P. Singh under Banijay Asia.
CID is primarily shot in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. During the long course of the show, the series has been shot in various locations all over India. Other locations include — Delhi, Ahmedabad, Agra, Mathura, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kullu, Manali, Matheran, Satara, Kolkata and Mahabaleshwar among others. CID has also been shot in foreign countries. Some locations outside India include places like Uzbekistan, London, Paris and Switzerland, which included tourist attractions like Interlaken as well as cities such as Bern and Zürich. A major Paris–Switzerland shoot was done for a 2 hour special episode "Aakhri Chunauti", and a part of the production team's 13th anniversary celebration plan.
CID was broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television, through its run. The series is also aired on Sony Max, ever since it went off air. Currently, the series re-airs on Sony Pal, Sony Wah, Sony Max, Sony Aath and Sony Marathi.
The show was decided to end suddenly by the channel and on 27 October 2018, the last episode was aired. Rumours of the show getting cancelled was going rounds while the official statement by the channel stated the show will go off air for three months to give the producers enough time to reboot it. Further it was reported that "CID is not wrapping up. But it is going on a short break and that's only for a creative reason. The makers haven't received any closure letter from the channel that proves that they are still in contract with them. The break has been decided mutually by the makers and channel as they want to reboot the show." But no announcement of it returning was made since then. Actor Dayanand Shetty who played Daya quoted that the show would not return after this break saying, "No, I don't think it's coming back. I doubt it's coming back. There can't be a break. It's just a convenient way of killing the show."
On 24 October 2024, a 10-second teaser was released showcasing the return of the show on Sony TV, with a second season. The teaser revealed Shivaji Satam, Dayanand Shetty and Aditya Srivastava reprising their roles as ACP Pradyuman, Senior Inspector Daya and Senior Inspector Abhijeet respectively. The second season started airing on 21 December 2024.
On July 7, 2006, a nationwide talent hunt by Sony India. called Operation Talaash was launched in search of a new officer to join the CID team. This concluded on September 1, 2006, with Vivek V. Mashru being chosen to play Sub-Inspector Vivek. Sony Entertainment Television had launched CID: Gallantry Awards, an initiative to encourage and honour acts of bravery in society on 26 January 2010 Republic Day. The second edition of this initiative was aired on January 23, 2011. The third and fourth editions were aired on April 1, 2012 and April 14, 2013 respectively. On July 10, 2015; Sony TV announced the Shaatir Lekhak Contest, in which 3 incomplete stories and clues were presented. Contestants were required to complete any one story out of three. The contest ended on July 26, 2015. The winning story appeared in episodes and prizes were also given to the winner. From the total entries, 3 winners were selected, one for each story. The result for the winners were declared during one of the episodes of CID prior to 1 September 2015.
CID had three crossover episodes with the series Aahat, once on November 13–14, 2009, second time on February 12–13, 2010, and third time on June 25–26, 2010. It also had crossover episodes with Adaalat, once on December 3–4, 2010; second time on July 14–15, 2012 titled CID Viruddh Adaalat and third time on December 20, 2014 titled CID V/S Adaalat – Karmyudh. Also, it had a crossover with Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah titled Mahasangam, it started and ended in July 2014.
Rediff.com gave the series 4.5 / 5 stars, and stated, "Much of the credit for CID's success should go to Singh, and its cast, especially Shivaji Satam who plays ACP Pradyuman". It stated, "Its actors, or at least the core of the cast who have been a part of the series since its inception are so popular they have become household names." Rahul Hegde of Rediff giving the same ratings stated, "The crime detective series is still going strong". The Times of India stated, "CID which has constantly entertained its viewers with unique and challenging cases is also known for its different jokes in the world of internet." Kristina Das of India Today in a retrospective review in 2020, wrote, "The show had a cult following, even the non-viewers had shown interests. Except for logic, the show had everything, literally. The concept of the show was different, a tad bit too different, you may say. But at times, the makers dragged the episodes with unnecessarily lengthy dialogues when there was no content available."
Throughout its run, first season of CID was one of the most viewed series on Indian television. The series had an average TRP rating of 2.5 to 3 for several years.
Unlike first season, the second season of the show received lukewarm responses and had an average TRP rating of 0.8 which is a low rating as compared to the predecessor.. However, Season 2 got huge response from audience on Netflix,making the show as one of the top 10 TV show on Netflix.
A spin-off CID – Special Bureau, a series about the special branch of CID which deals with cases that were left unsolved for many years aired from 2004-2006. Another spin-off, CID – Chhote Heroes in which kids solve crimes with the help of CID aired in 2013. A Bengali-language adaptation of CID known as C.I.D. Kolkata Bureau aired on Sony Aath from 2012-2014. CID - The Game, a mobile video game developed by Vroovy (a joint venture of Hungama and Gameshastra) was developed as a tie-in to the TV series. CID Heroes - Super Agent Run, a running mobile video game has been released by Zapak and features the characters of Abhijeet, Daya and Pradyuman.
CID has gained a cult status and following among the audience, owing to its episodes, cast, characters, comedy and story. CID entered in both Guinness World Records and Limca Book of Records, for shooting uncut for 111 minutes for the episode named "The Inheritance", in October 2004. Singer Lata Mangeshkar admitted to being a fan of the series.
Abhishek Raghunath of Forbes India noted: "Millions of Indians wait for CID to play out on their TV screens three nights a week on Sony. The characters—ACP Pradyuman, Sr. Inspectors Abhijeet and Daya, forensic expert Dr Salunkhe, and a host of others—have attained cult status. In an age obsessed with sex, the show is entirely devoid of it and there is no melodrama, a staple of successful Indian soaps since 1999." Rhea Candy from Film Companion stated the chemistry of the cast members and it being a family show, the main reason behind CID's success. She added, "Today, the show incites mixed reactions. There is an acknowledgement of the institution it is; of the actors, directors and writers it has nurtured, and the efforts it has poured into churning out consistent entertainment. There are also unabashed memes inspired by CID's peculiarities."