Mini-series recommendations

June 29, 2021 12:09 PM

I've really gotten into watching mini-series (or limited series) lately. I'm not sure which ones I should watch next, any recommendations?

I haven't been into tv lately because, well, I just hate being "stuck" with a series, but I've really gotten into mini-series lately because they. END.

I'm in Canada and my streaming options are: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crave +HBO, Criterion Channel, and CBC Gem. But feel free recommend something that isn't on those platforms.

The ones I've watched so far, ranked:

LOVED: Veneno (so good!!!!!!), Olive Kitteridge, Unbelievable, It's a Sin

LIKED: Mare of Easttown, Underground Railroad

MEH: The Outsider

Those are all the ones I've seen relatively recently, I've seen others of course (Chernobyl, Sharp Objects, Big Little Lies, etc.)

I know there are many more out there, but I can't think of which one to check out next. A few that are on my list to watch next are The Queens Gambit and The Night Of.

I'm not a sci-fi or fantasy person at all. I think I really enjoy films and books that lean towards "slice of life."

What else should I consider adding to my to watch list?

posted by VirginiaPlain to Media & Arts (47 answers total)

If you want to ride the Kate Winslet HBO drama train - Mildred Pierce!
posted by rabbitbookworm at 12:20 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

Broadchurch is a British crime drama with most of the cast of various seasons of Doctor Who :) ...its a LITTLE longer than a miniseries since there are 3 seasons but they are only 8 episodes each.

Also similar in theme but VERY different in tone/style and if you like David Tennent check out "Viva Blackpool" (if you can find it). Its a crime drama/musical!
posted by Captain_Science at 12:26 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

Fleabag! It's on Amazon Prime and so enjoyable. There are two (short) seasons but the creator has said that's all there will be for the foreseeable future.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 12:26 PM on June 29, 2021 [17 favorites]

I also came to rec Mildred Pierce! It's a very faithful adaptation of the book.
posted by phunniemee at 12:28 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

The Mandalorian (Disney+). It's two seasons, only 8 episodes each, and it feels like a mini-series as it ends cleanly, without major cliffhangers until the next season which feels like it's more than 12 parsecs away.
posted by wile e at 12:46 PM on June 29, 2021

Hacks on HBO. Only one season of 10 episodes so far, and totally excellent.
posted by ejs at 12:48 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the recommendations! But seriously, I only want things with one season! Thank you!
posted by VirginiaPlain at 1:00 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

If you can get past the fantasy (and you might not be able to) then Amazon's Good Omens is a charming Best Frenemies sort of thing with David Tennant and Michael Sheen as fallen and not-fallen angels (respectively) who love each other and humans more than they love the roles they're fated to play. It's just been picked up (today) for a second season based on ideas authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman had for a sequel book but never got off the ground before Pratchett died. Since the series originally followed the one book and the second season hasn't actually been made yet, does that count?

If you're good with spies and espionage, The Night Manager is excellent and features a sometimes-naked Tom Hiddleston and an excellent Olivia Colman among many other great cast members (Hugh Laurie is perfect in his role as a charming villain). We just binged the first season of the horribly titled Deep State because of Mark Strong. It's good, but it's not as good as The Night Manager, and there are some horrendous accents in it (like the actor who played Tommy Lascelles in the first couple seasons of The Crown with an appalling "Texas" drawl).

The first series of Broadchurch (speaking of David Tennant and Olivia Colman) is the best. The second series is OK; the third is a struggle. I give you permission to stop after one, so there's your one season.
posted by fedward at 1:03 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

Parade’s End on HBO.
posted by onebyone at 1:06 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

11/22/63 is the best mini series I've ever seen. Amazing premise. Amazing characters and story. On HBO (I think)
posted by bbqturtle at 1:17 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

Years and Years and A Very English Scandal (both from Russell T Davies, who wrote It’s a Sin) are fantastic, if you haven’t seen them yet.
posted by sueinnyc at 1:23 PM on June 29, 2021 [7 favorites]

Definitely only watch the first (self-contained) season of Broadchurch as the second one undoes all the good that happened in the first.

Dancing on the Edge (from 2013 so you might have already seen it) a drama about a jazz band on the way up, mixing with the aristocracy in 1930s London with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode and a lot of other actors you’ll recognize. Starts off with a music reporter promoting the band then it gets alternately weird and wonderful until you just don’t know what the hell is going on.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:26 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

The TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace stuck with me a long time after I watched it.
posted by SNACKeR at 1:32 PM on June 29, 2021 [6 favorites]

You might give "Normal People" a spin.
posted by thivaia at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

Also, it's getting a bit long in the teeth now, but I have a real affection for "State of Play" (the BBC miniseries NOT the US movie based on). I willingly admit to having watched it all the way through more than once.
posted by thivaia at 1:37 PM on June 29, 2021

Wolf Hall. WOLF HALL!
posted by Dolley at 1:43 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

The Great - I guess it's supposed to have another season, but the first was, um, great and felt like a complete thing.

Happy Valley and The Fall are really enjoyable murder mysteries, and finished in two shortish seasons.

Fargo (I was so skeptical of a tv show sort of connected to one of my absolute favorite movies). Each of the seasons is distinct, has little to do with the movie, and is top-notch television.
posted by msbrauer at 1:49 PM on June 29, 2021

I'm not acquainted with most of your ranked series, so some of the ones I've enjoyed, in no particular order:

Parade's End
Generation Kill
I May Destroy You
Watchmen
The Little Drummer Girl
Churails
Patrick Melrose
Rubicon
The Hollow Crown
Upright

Technically more than one season, but more 'sequel' than 'continuation', and the first series work as standalones:
Deutschland '83 (subsequent series set in '86 and '89)
Ófærð (Trapped)
Russian Doll (S2 currently filming, IIRC)

Seconding Fleabag. It is two seasons, but they're short -- 12 episodes total, 30min runtime -- and more than worth it.

There's a load of older ones as well, but I don't know if they'd be findable on streaming services.
posted by myotahapea at 1:52 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

These are one season, max 8 episodes, all on Netflix Canada.

When They See Us
Unorthodox
Bodyguard
Russian Doll
Giri/Haji
Alias Grace
Black Earth Rising
posted by carolr at 2:23 PM on June 29, 2021

Show Me a Hero!
posted by Chenko at 2:59 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

I came to recommend "The Queen's Gambit", which I see you have mentioned. I want to see it a second time, just to pick up all the details I missed the first time around.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 3:02 PM on June 29, 2021

Yes, please just pretend Fleabag is one season. It’s the tops in writing, acting, the lot.
posted by argybarg at 3:11 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

The original Singing Detective
posted by latkes at 3:39 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

True Detective. Yes, there are three seasons but each season is a totally self-contained, independent story (no overlapping locations or characters) that wraps up at the end. Seasons 1 and 3 are amazing, skip Season 2.
posted by lovableiago at 3:56 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Russian Doll for sure
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:58 PM on June 29, 2021 [6 favorites]

Nthing Fleabag! Also, Catastrophe on Amazon Prime. (4 seasons for a total of 24 episodes, and it's complete.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:21 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

If you'll accept more of a short film anthology than a true series: Small Axe on Amazon Prime. The first of the five is a couple hours long, but the rest are between an hour and an hour and a half. The stories are all independent but they are all different views of the West Indian community in London from about the 1960s to the 1980s.
posted by sigmagalator at 4:49 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Bloodline (Netflix) is awfully good, except for the last season.

Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) is wonderful in The Miniaturist. That's BBC/PBS.
posted by BibiRose at 6:22 PM on June 29, 2021

Definitely Unorthodox!
posted by the_blizz at 6:46 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

(This is also on Amazon.) We’d been watching various things on PBS.com and kept getting promos from Halifax Retribution, a ten episode Australian procedural, and finally gave in. It was excellent, especially the sense of foreboding in earlier episodes.
posted by lhauser at 6:59 PM on June 29, 2021

To the Lake is a Russian series with English subtitles. It's on Netflix. This was probably the best series I watched during the pandemic. It's very well done. There may be a second season coming at some point, but currently it's just one season.
posted by alex1965 at 7:08 PM on June 29, 2021

Adding my voice to the Unorthodox train. It's phenomenal.
posted by foxtongue at 8:46 PM on June 29, 2021

We Are Lady Parts
posted by pompomtom at 8:53 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Fosse/Verdon
posted by apartment dweller at 10:06 PM on June 29, 2021

I didn’t think I had anything further to add to the above, but mention of the excellent Fosse/Verdon reminded me of the also excellent Feud: Bette and Joan.
posted by fabius at 5:53 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh, I also remembered:

We Are Who We Are
The Good Lord Bird
I Hate Suzie
The Plot Against America

All miniseries.
posted by fabius at 6:01 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

The Good Lord Bird, about John Brown, based on the novel by James McBride. It was one of our favorite media experiences in a year full of great ones. Ethan Hawke plays John Brown, and his performance is amazing. I don't know what platform it's on, we saw it in New Zealand.

Seconding Bodyguard and Russian Doll.

Dispatches From Elsewhere was odd, funny, touching and intriguing, but I feel like it didn't pull itself together enough to be greater than the sum of its parts. I definitely thought it was worthwhile.

Devs was slow, thoughtful, tense and intriguing. I think it might have been better if the makers didn't feel like it needed an "ending." It's an Alex Garland work, which implies an acting style that's not to everyone's taste (also not to the whole cast's strengths sometimes) but as with Dispatches From Elsewhere I found it unique and intriguing enough to watch and recommend.

Lupin on Netflix just dropped the second half of its story. I'm not sure if they're planning to keep it going with further seasons or not, but the story they're telling now looks like it will be self contained. It's a heist adventure/drama. Omar Sy stars, and he's just wonderful.

The Luminaries is a period drama with supernatural overtones based on the novel of the same name by Eleanor Catton. It's set during New Zealand's gold rush. We watched it with significant gaps between episodes, which left me very confused. It has a dual timeline, and they don't make it super obvious which one any given scene takes place in. I think it would have been more clear if we had watched it over a shorter span of time. It stars Eve Hewson (who is a dead ringer for Emily Blunt), Eva Green, Himesh Patel, Richard Te Are and bunches of other people. I feel like they spent too much time on the early party of the story and got stuck with a glut of exposition in the final hour, but if period drama is your jam it would be worth looking into.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:02 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

I’ve been trying to think of other British miniseries, because I know there have been more good ones in the past, so in case these are to your taste, and you can find them, I’ve enjoyed all these:

House of Cards (1990)
State of Play (2003)
The Shadow Line (2011)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell (2015)
Edge of Darkness (1985)
The Honourable Woman (2014)
Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
Our Friends in the North (1996)
A Very British Coup (1988)
posted by fabius at 6:15 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Reaching back a long way to the beginning of mini series, when I reserved that night of the week to rush home to watch: Roots and Sho-gun
posted by SLC Mom at 11:57 AM on June 30, 2021

Russian Doll.
posted by wwax at 2:07 PM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Top of the Lake on Netflix -- the first season is fantastic and stands alone. I started season 2 and found it uninteresting.

My all-time favorite miniseries are Brideshead Revisited and The Singing Detective (make sure you get the British miniseries and not the Robert Downey Jr remake).
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:16 PM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh and Prime Suspect as well--each season stands alone.
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:17 PM on June 30, 2021

If you can handle sub-titles, most Korean series are limited to one series. My housemate and I got obsessed with them during lockdown, and part of the attraction is that they end. They are 16-20 hours long though, and often paced quite differently to english language dramas.

Crash Landing on You was the gateway drug for many people in 2020. It's a romance (many are). If romance isn't your thing, then My Mister is an excellent office/life/family drama. The Reply series is somewhere between the two (I've only watched Reply 1988). There are quite a lot of crime shows too, Where the Camellia Blooms is entertaining.
posted by kjs4 at 10:04 PM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

I came in to say the same thing as kjs4. Another recommendation is Rookie Historian.
posted by SandiBeech at 6:07 AM on July 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

You can definitely treat Fargo as a series of standalone seasons.

The Terror (FX, on Hulu in the US): 2 seasons but each is a standalone in a different setting; haven't seen the second but the first was terrific.

Trust (same) is 10-episodes-and-done.

Counterpart (Starz) and The Knick (Cinemax/HBO Max), both 2 seasons, both reach fairly definite endings; you could pretend you're watching one long season.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:08 AM on July 1, 2021

State of the Union. A second season has been announced, but just ignore it.
posted by gakiko at 11:43 AM on July 5, 2021

The Beast Must Die
posted by unliteral at 8:14 PM on July 6, 2021