Karan Johar announces final season of 'Koffee With Karan'

Filmmaker looks back on the show’s 22-year journey and says he is ready to turn his focus back to films

Karan Johar has revealed that the upcoming season of Koffee With Karan will be his last, bringing an end to a defining chapter of his career while hinting at more time for filmmaking. In an emotional Instagram video, the filmmaker looked back on the origins of the celebrity talk show, which began with an idea he once shared with his late father in 2004.

“This is more of an emotional message than a professional announcement,” Johar said. “I know this show gave me so much. I reached a point in my life where I realised that all good things have to come to an end. With a kind of heavy heart, I have to say that this will be my very last season of Koffee With Karan.”

Johar recalled telling his father in June 2004 that he wanted to host a talk show featuring two celebrities in an informal and candid conversation.

“I think it was June 2004 where I told my dad that I really want to host a talk show and I want to get two celebrities or stars and just have an informal, candid chat with them,” he shared.

His father, however, questioned the idea. “And he looked at me and said Karan, you will invite your friends and chat with them. You do that every day so who will pay you for that?”

Johar's father died that same month, on June 26. “He passed away that month itself, actually. On the 26th of June,” Johar said.

Just weeks later, Johar began filming the show that would go on to become one of Indian television’s most recognisable celebrity formats. “The very first day I shot for it was August 16th, 2004 and I’m here now, 8 seasons later, 22 years later, 161 episodes later.”

 

 

 

 

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Looking back at the people who have appeared on the famous couch, Johar said the show had witnessed friendships, romances, marriages and fallouts over the years.

“A lot happened. I called lovers, I called friends, I called families. I called lovers who then went on to become ex-lovers. Some of them even got married. I nearly put an end to careers of national icons,” he added.

Johar also acknowledged some of the controversies and labels that have followed him throughout his career. “I am living with the word ‘nepotism’ even today” and “‘Conjecture’ because a kind of national word,” he said.

The filmmaker then pointed to an irony he had noticed in public conversations around him: people often asked about the next season of his talk show rather than his next film.

“So much happened. And everywhere I go, fortunately or unfortunately I am always asked when is the next season of Koffee with Karan, I wonder why they don’t ask me when my next feature film is,” he said.

For Johar, however, the decision appears to be less about the criticism surrounding the programme and more about bringing its long-running journey to a natural close.

He also appeared to anticipate the reaction the announcement could generate online, acknowledging that the show had attracted its share of criticism alongside its popularity.

“There will be trolls, there will be comments, there will be posts. And I’m ready to take that on. But within all of that and beneath all of that, I know that there is still abundant love for this cup of Koffee. So join me in my last season of Koffee with Karan and have that one last cup of Koffee with me. Cheers!”

The announcement marks a significant moment for Johar. Over the years, the show became known for its informal celebrity conversations, rapid-fire rounds and candid revelations, while comments and exchanges on the programme frequently became talking points beyond the show itself.

Johar currently has two back-to-back films expected to enter production in 2027. For now, however, he is inviting audiences to join him for one final cup of Koffee.