Summary

• The best miniseries offer snappy storytelling, dramatic beats, and a satisfying payoff, making them as engaging as traditional TV.
• Some viewers prefer miniseries because they deliver complex plots and compelling characters in a short period, wrapping up the story well.
• Streaming giants like Netflix and Max are adding more miniseries to their roster, providing an ever-growing list for viewers to choose from.

Television and streaming have all but taken over the screen sector, and the best miniseries to binge make TV even more accessible. Without the need to invest in a long-term commitment, miniseries offer the same snappy storytelling, dramatic beats, and satisfying payoff that traditional TV does. The best of the miniseries have viewers hooked from start to finish, making sure that the story is short and sweet. Keeping the story refined and exciting ensures that viewers remain engaged the whole way through, which is why the best miniseries to watch over a weekend are often only a few episodes long.

In this way, some viewers feel that the best miniseries on Netflix and others are better than traditional television, where the story can stray too far from its original concept and beloved characters often leave too soon. The best miniseries to binge often deliver complex plots and compelling characters in a surprisingly short period, leaving viewers satisfied and feeling like the short series wrapped everything up well. With streaming giants like Netflix and Max adding even more miniseries to their roster, there's an ever-growing list to choose from.

50 Get Even (2020)

Based On The Book Series Don't Get Mad By Gretchen McNeil

Available to stream on Netflix

Based on the book series Don’t Get Mad, Get Even was initially produced for BBC iPlayer before Netflix picked it up internationally. The series follows a group of teenage girls who take the bullying culture of their British school into their own hands, dubbing themselves DGM, as they take revenge on those who bully their classmates. When the secret group is implicated in a murder, however, they have to find a way to clear their names. The show features more twists and turns than almost any other modern mystery on TV. It fleshes out what could be stereotypical character types very quickly, making for a compelling and dramatic short series.

49 The Dropout (2022)

A Biopic Based On Theranos & Elizabeth Holmes

Available to stream on Hulu

The Dropout is one of the best miniseries on Hulu. Inspired by real events, the series follows Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) and her company, Theranos, as she struggles to make a dream product a reality. Or more accurately, how she cuts corners and falsifies data to make sure her company doesn’t lose their investors when she can’t make her dream product a reality. The Dropout is unlike any role Seyfried has played before, and that’s what makes it such good TV as the talented actress won an Emmy for her standout performance.

48 Mrs. America (2020)

A Biopic About Activist Phyllis Schlafly

Available to stream on Hulu

Just a few years ago, movie fans would not have believed a star like Cate Blanchett would do a TV series. Streaming and the comeback of the miniseries have changed that though. Blanchett stars in this Hulu miniseries that is set in the 1970s and centers around the movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and the backlash the movement received. In addition to Blanchett, the series features an impressive roster of women playing real-life historical figures, like Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm and Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem. Not everything in the series is historically accurate, but Mrs. America certainly features some fantastic performances.

47 I Am The Night (2019)

Inspired By The Memoir One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings Of Fauna Hodel

Available to stream on Hulu

Inspired by the memoir of Fauna Hodel, I Am The Night traces the possible connection between a young woman who was adopted and the Black Dahlia murder. India Eisley plays Fauna Hodel while Chris Pine plays the journalist investigating her grandfather, George Hodel, one of the suspects in the Black Dahlia case. While much of Hodel’s book could be disputed, the miniseries also takes liberties with gaps in historical knowledge, making it more of a work of fiction than fact. Pine as a down-on-his-luck investigator who just wants to find the truth, however, is the big selling point for the miniseries. It’s a different role for him, one that doesn’t allow him his usual charm, and one that will intrigue his fans.

46 From The Earth To The Moon (1998)

A Miniseries About The Space Race To The Moon

Available to stream on Max

When From The Earth To The Moon was first televised in 1998, it featured impressive visual effects and was nominated for a slew of technical awards across different guilds and film societies. It also won both the Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. The 12 episodes follow the American space program’s journey to put astronauts on the moon. It was unique, however, in that it didn’t retread material already presented in movies.

For example, the episode covering Apollo 13 tells the story from the perspective of the media instead of the astronauts, since the movie has already given the astronaut’s account. Tom Hanks has writing, directing, and producing credits on the impressive series, and he also narrated the episodes and featured in a reenactment in the finale. It was a true passion project for him.

45 Stay Close (2021)

Based On The Novel By Harlan Coben

Available to stream on Netflix

Inspired by the Harlan Coben novel of the same name, Stay Close is part of a deal that Coben has with Netflix in which 14 of his novels will eventually be adapted for the streaming site. Stay Close is the sixth. The story follows the investigation of a missing man on the anniversary of another missing person’s case, tying together the lives of a burnt-out detective, a former exotic dancer, and a photographer. Like most of Coben’s mysteries, there are plenty of twists in the story to be unraveled, but it’s a character-driven drama with great performances.

44 Devs (2020)

A Sci-Fi Thriller Miniseries From Hulu

Available to stream on Hulu

Though some of Devs' twists might be too long and drawn out for some people watching, it still poses fascinating questions for the audience about the ethics of pushing the boundaries of science and technology. It kicks off with a woman who works for a tech company investigating the death of her boyfriend, who dies on the first day of his promotion to a very secret branch of the company. What follows is a terrifying advancement in technology and two governments fighting to have access to it. It makes for a fascinating examination of the direction technology is headed and is one of Hulu’s best miniseries.

43 The Stand (2020)

A Stephen King Adaptation

• Available to stream on Paramount+

From the mind of prolific horror writer Stephen King comes The Stand. The novel is one of King’s most famous, and it’s already been made into a miniseries in the past. This version of the miniseries, however, features a new extended ending written by King that gives an idea of how society proceeds after the events of the story. In the story, most of humanity is wiped out by a plague and a representation of evil on Earth tries to tempt humanity to the dark side. The story is a classic one of good versus evil, but it’s done in King’s terrifying style.

42 Lost Ollie (2022)

An Emotionally Strong Animated Project

Available to stream on Netflix

Not all the Southern accents in Lost Ollie are perfect, but that doesn’t mean the emotional performances aren’t great. Based on the children’s book Ollie’s Odyssey, the live-action-animated hybrid follows a toy named Ollie who is in the lost and found section of an antique store. Ollie doesn’t have all of his memories about his past, but he does want to find his best friend. The series originally saw some comparisons to the Toy Story franchise, but because of the live-action element of the show, there’s a realism to it that isn’t present in Pixar’s movies. It’s a story that tugs at the heartstrings, just like Pixar’s projects, and is a great watch for both kids and adults.

41 Looking For Alaska (2019)

A Tragic Miniseries

• Available to purchase through Apple TV or Google Play

While many of John Green’s young adult novels have received the movie treatment, like The Fault In Our Stars, Looking For Alaska gets the miniseries treatment. It’s a better option for it since it allows for more in-depth looks at the characters. Looking For Alaska follows a teenager who is sent to a boarding school where he meets the enigmatic Alaska. Though she captures his attention with effervescent energy, her story ends in tragedy. Her story opens up a dialogue about mental health that doesn’t sensationalize it the way other teen stories have, making it a fantastic miniseries for teens and adults alike.

40 Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)

A Gripping True Crime Docuseries

Available to stream on Netflix

There’s no denying that true-crime docuseries, podcasts, and even dramas inspired by real cases have exploded since 2017. Much of that is due to streaming making binge-watching convenient for those who want to learn everything they can about famous cases. Netflix has several Conversations With A Killer series, but the Ted Bundy Tapes is the one that started them all. For true-crime fans, it’s a fascinating look at interviews with a serial killer. It features previously unreleased interviews, exploring the psychology of a killer by examining him more closely than before. It makes for one of the best true crime miniseries because it offers a whole new perspective for those who seek to study these particular cases.

39 National Treasure: Edge Of History (2023)

A Spinoff Of The Nic Cage Franchise

Available to stream on Disney+

If National Treasure: Edge Of History had received a second season, it wouldn’t have qualified as a miniseries. The Disney+ show, which is set after the events of the first two National Treasure movies, brings in new characters to find a lost South American treasure. While the first two movies are firmly rooted in the history of the United States, this series opens up questions about gaps in the knowledge of South and Central American indigenous people as well as how women can be overlooked in that history. It could have created a new expansive chapter of the National Treasure saga, but with its short season, it’s one of the best miniseries on Disney Plus.

38 Mind Over Murder (2022)

A Fascinating Look At Memories

Available to stream on Max

Filmmaker Nanfu Wang became fascinated by the idea that memories aren’t always accurate when she realized that the people she interviewed for other documentaries didn’t always recall their experiences correctly. That led her to want to explore the subject of memory, and the case of Beatrice 6 provided her with a platform to do that. The Beatrice 6 were convicted of sexually assaulting someone, partly because five of them confessed to the crime after being pressured by a psychologist about repressed memories. 20 years later they were all exonerated by DNA evidence, and Wang began learning their story in 2019. Wang’s attention to detail makes the docuseries a great watch as she explores just how something like this can happen.

37 Tiny Beautiful Things (2023)

Kathryn Hahn Shines

Available to stream on Hulu

One thing fans of the miniseries format will find is that so many of the best miniseries on streaming platforms are inspired by books. While that’s usually novels, Tiny Beautiful Things is inspired by a series of essays. Kathryn Hahn stars as a writer who ends up becoming an anonymous advice columnist. While she advises others, her life spirals. The show aims to provide viewers with relatable and universal emotional experiences even while giving very specific advice in very specific situations, and it balances that well. Hahn proves both her dramatic and her comedic acting chops as someone just barely holding her life together.

36 Star Wars: Visions (2021-)

Star Wars, But Anime

Available to stream on Disney+

Star Wars is such a massive franchise that it features movies, animated series, comic books, novels, and games. Star Wars: Visions is an anthology series in which the stories fit into the main timeline of the universe, but don’t have to be watched to enjoy the movies. Every episode of the animated series is styled by a different animation studio, breathing new life and looking into a mythology that Star Wars fans already know so well.

35 Cruel Summer Season 1 (2021)

A Harrowing, Twisted Tale Of A Missing Girl

Available to stream on Hulu

Though there are multiple seasons of Cruel Summer, it’s an anthology series, with each season featuring new characters in a new summer setting. The first season tells the story of two teenage girls in the 1990s. One of those girls is abducted and held captive by someone she trusted, and once she escapes, she accuses the other of knowing about her plight. By telling the story in dual timelines (both before and after the abduction), and flashing to the circumstances of the captivity, Cruel Summer slowly feeds the mystery of just who is telling the truth and how much information each person has. It’s a masterful exercise in suspense and cliffhangers.

34 Julie And The Phantoms (2020)

Netflix Canceling This Show Made It A Great Miniseries

Available to stream on Netflix

Julie and the Phantoms was likely planned as Netflix’s next big teen series when it made its debut in 2020. The musical dramedy, however, was an expensive series for Netflix to make and Julie and the Phantoms was canceled after the first season. That cancelation makes it one of Netflix’s best miniseries, not just one of the best aimed at kids. In the show, Julie finds her life turned upside down when she can suddenly see and hear the ghosts of a 1990s band who had been on the verge of their big break when they died. She works through her grief at the loss of her mother to become their new lead singer when they discover people can interact with them when they perform with her. The series has fantastic music, great performances from its leads, and a compelling story.

33 Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities (2022)

From One Of The Most Creative Minds In Hollywood

Available to stream on Netflix

Guillermo del Toro writes and directs two of the episodes of this miniseries, but he curated the entire collection, selecting exactly which horror stories to be told. The anthology series runs the gamut from spiritual stories, hauntings, and creature features to tales of alien life forms. There are different writers and directors for each story being told, giving each one a unique feel despite them all falling under the horror umbrella. All of them are visually stunning with mixes of practical effects, makeup, and computer-generated effects work, making Cabinet of Curiosities one of the most creative miniseries to watch.

32 Midnight Mass (2021)

Horror Master Mike Flanagan Delivers Again

Available to stream on Netflix

Mike Flanagan has had a lucrative deal with Netflix, producing several miniseries for the streamer over the last few years. Midnight Mass, however, is a long-gestating story idea. Flanagan planted the story of Midnight Mass in some of his other projects as an Easter egg before ever getting to make the miniseries, which is an examination of grief, faith, and how the two interact.

The series is set on a small island where a new priest and a former resident both arrive at the same time and miracles begin to happen. The miracles, however, may be too good to be true, as the residents soon discover. Midnight Mass features impeccable acting from its cast and fully fleshed-out characters instead of small-town stereotypes, making it one of the best miniseries Netflix currently has to offer.

31 Normal People (2020)

A Realistic Look At A Complicated Relationship

Available to stream on Hulu

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal anchor the cast as the two leads in Normal People. The duo plays a pair who meet in secondary school and initially have a secret relationship full of misunderstandings in which they hurt one another. The series traces their relationship as friends and romantic partners through college, making the series both a romantic drama and a coming-of-age story. Both characters have trouble articulating what they want, and both actors play their vulnerabilities incredibly well, which is largely why it’s easy to connect with their characters. Normal People was nominated for a slew of Irish Television Awards and Primetime Emmys following its release.