8 Netflix Miniseries That Are 10/10 Masterpieces

50 minutes ago 24

Eike Schroter / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Published Nov 15, 2026, 6:01 AM EST

Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.

The miniseries format has been growing in popularity in recent years, thanks to its winning combination of high production values and detailed long-form storytelling. Many of the most acclaimed shows of the past few years have been miniseries, sweeping awards and garnering praise from critics around the world. So, it’s no surprise that Netflix is home to several great miniseries, including some of the most celebrated ever made.

With their thought-provoking stories and gorgeous productions, these Netflix masterpieces regularly rank among the most beloved shows of all time. And the best of them are the ones that have achieved total perfection in every department, across acting, writing, direction, and production design. Without further ado, here’s our selection of some of the best Netflix miniseries released, each of which is a 10/10 masterpiece.

1 ‘Ripley’ (2024)

Close up of Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn laying on the sand and wearing sunglasses in 'Ripley'.

A neo-noir psychological thriller created, directed, and written by Steven Zaillian, Netflix’s Ripley is adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s popular novel The Talented Mr. Ripley and follows Tom Ripley, a charming grifter who gets himself hired by a wealthy New York businessman to travel to Italy and convince his prodigal son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return home. But when Tom meets Dickie and his girlfriend, he instantly gets obsessed with Dickie’s life, setting him on a dark path of greed, deceit, and murder. Andrew Scott stars as the titular antagonist, with Johnny Flynn, Dakota Fanning, Eliot Sumner, Margherita Buy, and Maurizio Lombardi in main roles.

While Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel has had several screen adaptations, Zaillian brings a very sophisticated and elevated take on the character and crimes of Tom Ripley, played out fantastically by Scott. Shot in beautiful black and white, the miniseries is visually rich and immersive in every frame, with Giallo motifs and classic noir elements that transform the crime classic into a modern cinematic masterpiece. Ripley has been widely praised for its deeply layered, slow-burning narrative of lust, ambition, envy, and deceit, unraveling the antagonist’s deception in a deliberate, methodical manner.

2 ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023)

Sauriyan Sapkota as Prospero Usher, Kate Siegel as Camille, Rahul Kohli as Napoleon Usher, Matt Biedel as William, and Samantha Sloyan as Tamerlane in The Fall of the House of Usher sitting at the table.

Created by Mike Flanagan, The Fall of the House of Usher is a gothic horror drama adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same name, following the rise and fall of brother-sister duo, Roderick and Madeline Usher, the corrupt owners of a pharma company. Plagued by a mysterious woman named Verna, the siblings face their day of reckoning as Roderick’s children begin to die one by one, each in increasingly horrifying ways. Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell star as the Usher siblings and Carla Gugino as Verna, with Carl Lumbly, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Mark Hamill, and more in key roles.

The Fall of the House of Usher is a fantastic combination of gothic atmosphere, gruesome body horror, psychological dread, and supernatural eeriness. A master of slow-burn horror, Flanagan does every bit justice to Poe’s creations, reinventing the classic 19th-century Gothic motifs and elements into a state-of-the-art, diabolical story of retribution and reparation. With its high production values, elevated by powerhouse performances, The Fall of the House of Usher is an exemplary horror miniseries where every episode incites fear, thrill, and awe, sometimes all at the same time.

3 ‘Baby Reindeer’ (2024)

Donny on stage holding a microphone in front of a red curtain in Netflix's Baby Reindeer.

A British black comedy thriller created by Scottish actor-comedian Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer is a miniseries adaptation of his semi-autobiographical one-man show. Starring Gadd as a fictionalized version of himself, the show follows Donny, a struggling comedian working as a bartender, whose small act of kindness to cheer up a sad customer, Martha, turns into a living nightmare when she becomes dangerously obsessed with him. Jessica Gunning stars as Martha, alongside Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill in other main roles. The series also features Nina Sosanya, Michael Wildman, and Shalom Brune-Franklin as recurring characters.

Under its layers of dry, dark humor, Baby Reindeer is an intense and disturbing story of obsession and confronting your own demons. At the same time, the narrative is very intelligent and has all the right elements of a stalker thriller, making it a unique comedy show that goes beyond just laughs and engages the audience by challenging and stimulating their thoughts. Almost universally acclaimed by critics and audiences since its premiere, Baby Reindeer has rightfully been hailed as one of the best drama shows of the 2020s so far, driven by the compelling performances and chemistry of Gadd and Gunning.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun

Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.

🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)

🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)

🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)

🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)

FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND →

How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.

AWe got loud about the same obsession and never stopped. BThey invited me somewhere before we had properly met. CWe bonded over disliking exactly the same thing. DThey noticed I was struggling and stayed with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.

AA ridiculous plan neither of us should attempt. BSomewhere new, photographed heavily, ending very late. CSomewhere quiet, few people, zero small talk. DSomething simple, and a conversation that actually matters.

NEXT QUESTION →

You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.

AThey are already putting their shoes on. BThey answer instantly and turn it into a plan. CThey answer and say something unflattering and true. DThey listen for an hour and never check the time.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.

ASupport first. We can review the mistake later. BA relentlessly positive reframe of the entire disaster. CThe blunt version. Do not soften it for me. DPatience, and no judgment about how I got here.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.

AI am all in, always, about everything. BI can turn almost any situation into a good time. CI say the thing nobody else in the room will. DI look after whoever is having the worst day.

NEXT QUESTION →

You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.

ALoudly, briefly, then back to normal by Tuesday. BThey apologise first, enthusiastically, with a gift. CCold silence, then one dry joke that fixes everything. DWe talk until we both understand what actually happened.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.

ATo make my life bigger than it would be alone. BTo push me out of the house and into my own life. CTo catch me when I start lying to myself. DTo be the person who never gave up on me.

NEXT QUESTION →

Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.

AWe would still drop everything for each other, instantly. BWe still make plans, and we still actually go. CWe still cut through each other's nonsense in one sentence. DThey stood by me once when it cost them something.

REVEAL MY BEST FRIEND →

The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…

Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.

Dustin Henderson

You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.

Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.

Emily Cooper

You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.

Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.

Wednesday Addams

You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.

Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.

Seong Gi-hun

You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.

Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

4 ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020)

Based on Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel, The Queen’s Gambit was created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott and follows the journey of Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy in 1950s Kentucky, who becomes the world’s most elite female chess player. The seven-episode miniseries chronicles Beth’s life from an orphaned childhood to her rise to fame as she navigates ambition and adversities. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as the protagonist, with Bill Camp, Moses Ingram, Chloe Pirrie, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in other main roles.

The Queen’s Gambit is a highly perceptive coming-of-age drama that explores themes of childhood trauma, substance abuse, mental health issues, and troubled prodigies. Leading a strong ensemble cast, Anya Taylor-Joy owns the screen with her phenomenal performance, which earned her a Golden Globe Award, as well as other accolades. A multi-Emmy-winning Netflix Original, The Queen’s Gambit is a perfectly crafted and intelligently written miniseries that leaves a lasting impression on the audience with its remarkable period aesthetics and music by the Emmy-winning Carlos Rafael Rivera.

5 ‘Adolescence’ (2025)

Ashley Walters and Faye Marsay leaning against a brick wall while looking at each other in Adolescence.

A British psychological crime drama created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence chronicles the story of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old boy who is suspected of killing his schoolmate. When the police begin their investigation into Jamie, the case devastates his family, unraveling everyone’s lives and unearthing heartbreaking information about Jamie. Graham also stars in the show as Jamie’s father, Eddie, with Erin Doherty, Christine Tremarco, Ashley Walters, Faye Marsay, Mark Stanley, Jo Hartley, and Hannah Walters in notable roles.

Adolescence is an emotionally charged, gut-punching depiction of every parent’s worst nightmare that has not only made a lasting impression on the audience but also had a social and political impact. Cinematically, the miniseries is a visual delight, with fantastic camera techniques and artistic lighting, and each episode is shot in a single, long, continuous take. With its excellent writing, fantastic cinematography, and phenomenal performances, Adolescence delivers so much more in its four episodes than many long-running, acclaimed crime shows have done with much longer runtimes.

6 ‘Dracula’ (2020)

Claes Bang as Count Dracula in BBC One's 'Dracula'

Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, BBC’s Dracula is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic that reinvents the character, settings, and motifs by reimagining the legendary vampire through a 21st-century lens. The horror drama miniseries follows Count Dracula’s legacy of gore and terror spanning two centuries, from his beginnings in Transylvania to modern-day London, as he continues his lifelong battle with his arch nemesis and vampire-hunter, Agatha Van Helsing. Claes Bang stars as the mythical monster and Dolly Wells as Van Helsing, with John Heffernan, Morfydd Clark, Samuel Blenkin, Lydia West, Matthew Beard, and Gatiss in supporting roles.

While there are undoubtedly more intricate and intense adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the miniseries is an edgy, elegant translation of the 19th-century literary classic that scores over its big-screen counterparts with its meticulously crafted story and production. Dracula delights in every scene with its sophisticated visuals, stimulating and sharp dialogue, and dark humor, delivered impeccably by Claes Bang and Dolly Wells, and the show is carried by their fiery chemistry. The series is a cleverly crafted reinterpretation of the horror classic, made with modern sensibilities, which does justice to the original literature while delivering a contemporary television masterpiece.

7 ‘Katla’ (2021)

A scene from the series Katla on Netflix

Created by Baltasar Kormákur and Sigurjón Kjartansson, Katla is an Icelandic sci-fi mystery thriller that revolves around the people of Vik, a small deserted Icelandic town, grappling with the devastation caused by a volcanic eruption from a year before. When the town is suddenly plagued by the return of several dead and/or missing people from the past, who arrive covered in ash, it turns the local myths of changelings into reality, unraveling the lives of the survivors. The miniseries stars Guðrún Eyfjörð, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Íris Tanja Flygenring, Valter Skarsgård, Aliette Opheim, and Þorsteinn Bachmann in main roles.

An enigmatic, genre-bending miniseries, Katla is rooted in its character-driven drama, supported by strong elements of science fiction, supernatural horrors, and mythology. The eight-episode miniseries is a grim but grounded exploration of loss, grief, trauma, and the impact of natural catastrophes on human life. A class apart from most Nordic noir series, Katla stands out with its storytelling, atmospheric production, and nuanced characters. It has since been critically acclaimed, even though it’s also one of the most overlooked shows on Netflix’s catalog.

8 ‘Unbelievable’ (2019)

Kaitlyn Dever as Marie Adler wearing a grey hoodie riding her bike in 'Unbelievable

Created by Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman, and Michael Chabon, Unbelievable is a crime drama miniseries that draws from T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong’s Pulitzer Prize-winning news feature and their book A False Report, retelling the real-life case of 18-year-old Marie Adler, whose rape assault report was dismissed as a false incident, forcing her to withdraw her statement. The Netflix miniseries focuses on Marie’s tormenting experiences with the police and judicial system, while two relentless detectives reopen the case in connection with a serial rapist. Kaitlyn Dever portrays Marie Adler, with Toni Collette and Merritt Wever in lead roles.

A powerful and painful narrative about victims of abuse, Unbelievable is a rare, almost perfect interpretation of true incidents, and yet, it has remained a heavily overlooked crime show. Without being sensationalistic, the show’s narrative handles the real events with the utmost grace and sensitivity, touching upon delicate subjects while simultaneously reflecting on the dysfunction of the legal and justice systems. The series is most memorable for Kaitlyn Dever’s compelling performance as an ignored victim, alongside an equally strong delivery by Collette and Wever as the detective duo seeking justice.