10 Best Miniseries of the Last 10 Years, Ranked

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A person in a hazmat suit in Chernobyl looking to the floor.

Published Feb 7, 2026, 3:18 PM EST

Ryan Heffernan is a Senior Writer at Collider. Storytelling has been one of his interests since an early age, with his appreciation for film and television becoming a particular interest of his during his teenage years.

This passion saw Ryan graduate from the University of Canberra in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Film Production. In the years since, he has found freelance work as a videographer and editor in the Canberra region while also becoming entrenched in the city's film-making community.

In addition to cinema and writing, Ryan's other major interest is sport, with him having a particular love for Australian Rules football, Formula 1, and cricket. He also has casual interests in reading, gaming, and history.

The rampant rise in the popularity of streaming platforms has proven to be a monumental innovator for television entertainment. One of the best byproducts of this evolution of the form has been the emerging era of miniseries, with the format offering a perfect middle ground between feature films and extended series that meets the watching habits of modern-day viewers, while also presenting a low-risk and cost-efficient avenue to success for producers.

As such, the past 10 years stand as something of a golden era for limited series, with the greatest highlights of the form consisting of everything from horror hits to crime thrillers, stunning period pieces, and social dramas of tremendous and timely relevance. Standing not only as outstanding limited series, but as defining titles of prestige television at large, these one-season shows are at the pinnacle of small-screen entertainment over the past decade.

10 'The Queen’s Gambit' (2020)

Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, sitting in front of a chess board in The Queen's Gambit.

Armed with Anya Taylor-Joy’s stunning lead performance, a strong and faithful basis on Walter Tevis’ novel, and immaculate production design that immerses viewers in its mid-20th century setting, The Queen’s Gambit became an instant phenomenon when it released on Netflix in 2020, and it remains one of the strongest miniseries the streaming platform has ever produced. It follows chess prodigy Elizabeth Harmon (Taylor-Joy), an orphan who becomes a chess prodigy and strives to become the world champion while battling emotional issues tied to her alcoholism and drug dependency.

As a spin on sporting drama, The Queen’s Gambit flaunts a certain underdog allure, but where it truly thrives is as a complex and commanding character study anchored in the burden of being a genius, the nature of obsession, the pursuit of greatness, and the many obstacles that lie on the path to success. A magnificent and thematically-rich story bolstered by an exceptional leading star and a treat of cinematic beauty, The Queen’s Gambit is a miniseries masterpiece that has become a defining title of the format’s popularity in the modern day.

9 'The Haunting of Hill House' (2018)

The family piles into the car, scared, in the Haunting of Hill House.

In both film and television, horror has become a defining genre of the past decade, with its success in that time being defined by narrative dare and creativity, thematic richness, and bold storytelling from the filmmakers in charge. Mike Flanagan has been at the forefront of the genre’s resurgence, and his hit miniseries The Haunting of Hill House stands as one of the best and most absorbing horror tales the small screen has ever seen.

A razor-sharp modernization of the Shirley Jackson novel, it follows the Crain family, depicting both their haunting experiences with paranormal entities in the summer of 1992 as the parents strive to renovate a dilapidated mansion, and the lingering effects the trauma continues to have on them in the modern day. As a simple ghost story, it is brilliant; exceptionally chilling and eerie where it should be, while delivering heart-pounding payoffs when needed. It is equally adept as an exploration of trauma and a strained familial dynamic. Its complementary use of contemplative drama and traditional horror is masterful, as is the handling of its time-jumping narrative and multiple character arcs, culminating in a true treat of television intensity that is so much more than just a scary ghost story.

8 'The Night Of' (2016)

DA John Stone (John Turturro) sits in court with his client Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed) in 'The Night Of' (2016).

An underrated masterpiece of 2010s crime television, The Night Of uses its gripping murder mystery premise as a catalyst to explore timely themes of systemic faults in the legal system and the racial profiling of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, but also to convey a captivating though bleak coming-of-age story. It revolves around Nasir Khan’s (Riz Ahmed) trial for the murder of a young woman. While the evidence against him is convincing, struggling lawyer John Stone (John Turturro) believes there may be more to the case. All the while, Nasir learns a series of hard truths about life while awaiting prosecution at Rikers Island.

The HBO miniseries finds strengths everywhere, from the outstanding performances from Ahmed and Turturro to the intricate and captivating legal suspense, the magnificent production value, and Steve Zaillian’s enchanting direction that conjures an air of bleak intensity and atmospheric might. The eight-episode arc offers a slow-burn story that is impossible to resist, making The Night Of an underappreciated gem of crime drama TV and one of the finest miniseries HBO has ever produced.

7 'Unbelievable' (2019)

Marking one of the most confronting yet important limited series dramas not only of the past decade but of all time, Unbelievable uses its harrowing basis on a true story to highlight systemic inadequacies in handling rape cases and the turmoil victims must go through to find justice. When teenager Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever) reports being raped, then recants her story, she faces legal backlash that suggests she is a criminal, and her life unravels as a result. All the while, detectives Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (Merritt Weaver) investigate a series of sexual assaults that could prove Marie was telling the truth the whole time.

It is a frustrating viewing experience, but it is designed to be, illustrating not just the trauma but also the social turmoil sexual assault survivors face. Also doubling as a grueling mystery drama, Unbelievable juggles its two overlapping stories with sublime expertise and stunning gravitas, ensuring its eight-episode run depicts a powerful, albeit heartbreaking, story of trauma, injustice, and the appalling failures of the legal system in cases of sexual abuse, anchored by three outstanding lead performances.

6 'I May Destroy You' (2020)

Arabella on the street looking to the distance in I May Destroy You

Another confronting tale that explores the aftermath of sexual assault, I May Destroy You uses a bold blending of black comedy, psychological drama, and piercing thematic richness to deliver one of the most ferocious miniseries of the 2020s so far. It follows Arabella (played by series creator, writer, and co-director Michaela Cole), a social media personality-turned-author who, after being drugged and raped during a night out, turns to her friends to help piece together her fragmented memories of the night.

Within its taut story of trauma, recovery, and the pursuit of understanding, I May Destroy You also serves as a commentary on fame, success, and sexual relations in the modern age of internet influencers and hook-up culture. Adept at juggling its tonal complexity, it finds a faultless balance between acidic comedy entertainment and grounded and grueling drama, presenting a contemplative and considered exploration of how the trauma of sexual abuse is felt by far more people than just the survivor, and how the road to overcoming said trauma is anything but linear.

5 'Godless' (2017)

Mary Agnes (Merritt Wever) and Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery) holding rifles in Godless.

Western drama has emerged as a television trend in recent years, be it in the form of violent period adventures like The English or modernized dramas like Yellowstone. The very best of the series the medium has seen in the past decade, however, is Netflix’s seven-part sensation Godless, which revolves around the town of La Belle, populated almost entirely by women after a deadly accident at a nearby mine, and a young outlaw on the run from his past gang led by the vicious criminal, Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels).

Defined by its gorgeous and grounded visual display, its compelling narrative of revenge and violence, and its litany of exceptionally gritty performances, the series strikes at the heart of Western storytelling while putting a fresh and rewarding spin on the genre with its female-dominated cast. It’s not a deconstruction of the genre, but it is an inventive new approach, one sure to entice Western lovers and newcomers alike. Even nine years on from its release, Godless remains one of the best and most commanding Netflix original series.

4 'When They See Us' (2019)

Yusef Salaam is led into court while anti-racism protesters support him. courtesy netflix

Marking another limited series to dramatize a harrowing real-life story that serves as a scathing indictment of the institutional faults in the legal system, When They See Us is a visceral dissection of such themes as racism and injustice, police coercion, and the detrimental impact of media grandstanding on active cases. In the aftermath of a sexual assault in Central Park in 1989, five youths are arrested and eventually jailed despite there being a lack of evidence and the quintet maintaining their innocence. While behind bars, they fight to have their convictions overturned, but the impact the false imprisonment has on their lives can never be undone.

With five astounding lead performances and Ava DuVernay’s razor-sharp direction, When They See Us excels as a provocative and purposefully frustrating examination of a shocking true story of injustice, a feat achieved by focusing on the humanity of those convicted and the impact their incarceration has on their families. The series’ four-episode run masterfully explores the trial, coerced confessions, imprisonment, and eventual exoneration of the men, leaving viewers with a thought-provoking story that dismantles one of the fundamental and most trusted social institutions in America.

3 'Adolescence' (2025)

Owen Cooper stares ahead with no expression in Adolescence.

One of the most recent limited series sensations to engulf the world, Adolescence excels as an enrapturing marriage of astute technical mastery and urgent, socially-relevant drama. With each of its hour-long episodes being shot in one take, it revolves around a 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) who is suspected of murdering a girl he went to school with. Following his arrest, police investigate the social dynamic between the accused and the victim; Jamie is interviewed by a forensic psychologist; and the Miller family struggles with the impossible objective of moving on with their lives as they are besieged by community backlash.

While it won widespread praise for its daring filmmaking approach, astonishing performances, and its storytelling, where Adolescence truly thrives is as a holistic, all-encompassing dissection of the “incel” tag, a growing trend of misogyny among teenage boys, and the unprecedented new age of internet safety. It received a staggering 13 nominations at the Primetime Emmys, going on to win eight, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. More importantly, its message reverberated around the world, raising awareness of the nature of modern-day misogyny with its brilliant though deeply disturbing story and its unique one-take execution.

2 'We Own This City' (2022)

Officer Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal) leading his Gun Task Force team down a sidewalk in 'We Own This City'.

Considered a spiritual sequel to The Wire, We Own This City sees showrunner David Simon return to the legal system of Baltimore to deliver a shocking true story of police corruption anchored by its sprawling, city-encompassing scope and a sublime lead performance from Jon Bernthal. Based on Justin Fenton’s nonfiction book of the same name, it uses a non-linear storyline to analyze the journey of the BPD’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force, from Sgt. Wayne Jenkins’ (Bernthal) initiation to the unit, through his command of the squad, and up to the persecution of the members of the GTTF for their crimes.

We Own This City presents a piercing analysis of the intersection of police corruption and public distrust in the force, one that brilliantly analyzes why such issues are so difficult to address from a systemic standpoint while also highlighting the pitfalls and shallow grandstanding of city politicians. While its dense details and time-jumping can be difficult to follow, We Own This City is a magnificent reflection on pressing societal problems pertaining to law enforcement that demands to be seen as one of the most socially-relevant and mature miniseries in recent years.

1 'Chernobyl' (2019)

Boris (Stellan Skarsgard) and Valery (Jared Harris) stand outside in 'Chernobyl.'

Not only the best miniseries, Chernobyl stands as arguably the defining masterpiece of television drama of the past decade, excelling as a grueling and viscerally intense examination of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. Every single one of its five episodes presents scintillating drama grounded in real-life detail, from the earlier episodes that showcase the full scope of the containment effort and the intentions of the Soviet leaders to keep the scale of the catastrophe secret, to the pulsating finale that depicts the Vienna conference where the ugly truth of political conceit behind the disaster is laid bare.

Chernobyl doesn’t just thrive as a brilliant recounting of historical events; it presents a masterclass of haunting atmospheric tension and large-scale storytelling, honoring the vast array of heroes who sacrificed their lives to prevent the reactor meltdown from becoming a continental calamity while showing the cost of deceit and secrecy from national leaders. Horrifying, harrowing, and heart-stopping, it marks one of HBO’s greatest ever productions and stands as a triumphant testament to the power of the limited series format.