The Kapil Sharma Show

The series format is largely identical to that of Comedy Nights with Kapil.[6] The Kapil Sharma Show revolves around Kapil Sharma and his team of comedians, including Sumona Chakravarti, Kiku Sharda, Chandan Prabhakar and Rochelle Rao, who play residents of the Shantivan Non-cooperative Housing Society. Normally every episode unfolds in two parts with the first part being a comic skit enacted by the actors of the show and the second part being the celebrity interview where popular personalities from various fields indulge in a light-hearted interaction with Kapil Sharma. Navjot Singh Sidhu was the permanent guest of the show but was replaced by Archana Puran Singh after 16 February 2019.[7][8]

On 22 December 2015, The Times of India reported that Sharma had decided to end his Comedy Nights with Kapil series and might move it to Star Plus or Sony Entertainment Television (India) with a new title because of his unhappiness with Colors TV. He said, "Yes, it's true. We told them we would go off the air in December, but since they didn't have a replacement ready, they requested us to continue till January 17".[336] On 4 February 2016, The Times of India reported that the new show would be called Comedy Style.[337] On 2 March, the newspaper confirmed that the new show would air on Sony TV. At a press conference the day before, the show's title was announced as The Kapil Sharma Show. Asked the reason for the change from Comedy Style, Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the show's creative team was uncertain about the name and conducted market research. Sharma's fans wanted a title like Kapil Wala Show, and the team came up with The Kapil Sharma Show.[338]

Sharma and his team promoted the future show with live performances in Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Amritsar, and the first episode was shot before a live audience in Delhi. According to Sharma, "Our aim has always been to bring a smile to everyone and with The Kapil Sharma Show we wish to do just that". Sony TV head Danish Khan said, "We are delighted to have Kapil and his talented team of writers and artists to put up this show: The Kapil Sharma Show."[339] The producers invested ₹5 million (US$70,000) in the show's first promotion,[340] introduced by Sharma and his team on 1 March. Asked what had hurt him the most after the cancellation of Comedy Nights with Kapil by Colors TV, Sharma said: "I am only hurt by the fact that they (Colors TV) removed the show from YouTube. It had become a historical show. They shouldn’t have removed it."[341]

On 1 March a contest, "Kapil Se Mil" ("Meet Kapil") was started by Sony TV to give viewers an opportunity to meet Sharma.[339] The series premiered on 23 April 2016. Originally scheduled for 26 episodes,[342] it was later extended indefinitely.

On 31 August 2017, the spokesperson of Sony Entertainment Television announced that Kapil Sharma and the channel have mutually agreed to give the show a short break as the shooting of several episodes had to be cancelled in the past few days due to Kapil Sharma's poor health. It was said that the show will be back on air soon and it aired back in December 2018 .[343] The show started losing TRP Post Kapil's mid-air altercation with co-star Sunil Grover. After that, his health started deteriorating which made him skip the show for a couple of episodes.[344] After the controversy Grover left the show along with Chandan Prabhakar and some other cast members.[345][346] After few episodes Krishna Abhishek and Bharti Singh join the show as new cast followed by re-entry of Prabhakar.[347][348][349][350]

The Kapil Sharma Show's first season received a mixed reception from critics and audiences.[351] Namrata Thakker of Rediff.com gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 stars, liking the characters of Sunil Grover and Ali Asgar but saying that "the series has big shoes to fill considering how successful their earlier show Comedy Nights With Kapil was."[352] Chaya Unnikrishnan of Daily News and Analysis gave the series two stars out of five but said, "Kapil Sharma's wit and funny one-liners bring a laugh". Although she praised part of the show ("In fact, the 10 minutes or so where [Sharma] has a monologue is the best part of the show"), Unnikrishnan called it "dull and disappointing".[353] In her 1.5-star review, Letty Mariam Abraham of Mid Day said: "The whole look and feel of the new set is interesting, even if the jokes are old". However, "Kapil brings nothing new to the plate and it seems like a waste of the prime time slot."[354] The season 2 of the show got a favourable opening according Broadcast Audience Research Council ratings, with 8.1 million impressions.[355]

• Official website
• The Kapil Sharma Show at IMDb