There was a point where Glory actually feels like it’s about to break the usual OTT formula. A small-town murder mystery mixed with boxing culture sounds fresh on paper, and honestly, the first few moments almost convince you that this one might go somewhere different. But then slowly, almost quietly, the show starts slipping into patterns we’ve already seen too many times before. By the time you realise it, the story has already taken a route that feels predictable and strangely safe.
Created by Karan Anshuman and Karmanya Ahuja, Glory had the kind of backing that usually raises expectations. Especially when you remember Anshuman’s earlier work like Inside Edge and Mirzapur, both of which managed to create strong, immersive worlds. Here too, the world-building is actually one of the better things going for the show. But sadly, that’s where most of the originality stays.
The story is set in the fictional town of Shaktigarh, a place that breathes boxing. Two brothers, played by Divyenndu and Pulkit Samrat, return home after a tragedy hits their family. Their sister is murdered, and along with her, a rising boxer connected to their father’s academy is also killed. What follows is supposed to be an intense investigation filled with suspects, hidden motives, and emotional tension. Instead, it quickly turns into a story where you start guessing the answers way too early, and unfortunately, you’re usually right.
The early episodes build a certain atmosphere, and for a moment, you feel like you’re stepping into a gritty mix of Haryana’s boxing circuits and local power dynamics. The detailing is actually quite sharp. From the characters’ attitudes to visual touches like the kind of cars they drive or the way the town functions, it all feels lived-in. But this effort doesn’t carry forward into the storytelling. Once the plot kicks in properly, it starts relying on the same old crime drama tricks that have been repeated across Indian streaming shows for years now.
And that’s really where Glory begins to lose its grip. The biggest issue isn’t that the story is simple, it’s that it becomes predictable very early. A crime thriller survives on tension and curiosity, but here both start fading even before the first episode ends. You don’t feel the urgency, you don’t feel the mystery stretching out — instead, everything feels oddly rushed and already seen.
What hurts even more is how strong the performances are. Suvinder Vicky brings serious weight to the role of the boxing coach father, and every time he’s on screen, there’s a presence that the show itself struggles to match. Divyenndu steps into a darker, more intense space compared to his earlier roles, showing he’s capable of a lot more range than people often give him credit for. Pulkit Samrat, too, delivers one of his more controlled and balanced performances, mixing aggression with emotional depth in a way that actually works.
The supporting cast also adds value. Jannat Zubair makes a noticeable return and handles her role with surprising ease, never feeling out of place. Kashmira Pardeshi, on the other hand, brings a layered performance that adds both vulnerability and complexity to the narrative. But even with all this talent, the show never fully uses them the way it should have. It almost feels like the actors are giving more than what the script is ready to support.
There’s also a larger issue that Glory ends up representing — something that has been happening more and more in the Indian OTT space. Since the streaming boom, there’s been a clear shift where style often takes priority over substance. Shows look polished, they sound intense, but when you sit through them, the storytelling doesn’t always hold up. Glory falls right into that pattern. It looks sharp, it starts strong, but it doesn’t stay consistent where it matters most.
And then comes the ending, which might just be the most frustrating part of the whole experience. Instead of wrapping things up in a satisfying way, the show leans into the now-common habit of leaving everything hanging for a potential next season. Cliffhangers can work when done right, but here it feels less like a creative choice and more like a business decision.
In the end, Glory isn’t a terrible show. It’s just one that had the chance to be something much better but never really took that step. It gives you glimpses of what it could have been — a gripping sports-crime drama with strong emotional weight — but settles for being another entry in the long list of average OTT thrillers. And that, more than anything else, is what makes it disappointing.
