This week I decided to branch out of pro wrestling and horror (at least slightly on that one) and create another one of my favorite things to do, a top 10 list! I realized I hardly ever talk about television despite watching plenty of TV. So, for this list I will be going over miniseries, shows and stories that were strictly contained within 1 season but packed an even bigger and more effective punch because of it. This is strictly going off of the miniseries that I’ve personally seen up to this point, so don’t get too offended if your favorite of all time doesn’t make my list. I’ve seen a whole lot of television in my time, but I’m aware there’s even more that I haven’t seen There’s not a whole lot more to add to that. Everyone knows and understands the context of what a television miniseries, right? So, let’s get into it.
#10: The Queen’s Gambit-
My girl, Anya Taylor-Joy’s miniseries on Netflix follows the story of an orphaned chess prodigy named Beth Harmon as she struggles with addictions and personal demons on her quest to become the top ranked chess player in the world. This series was set in the Cold War era as well, so there was a feminist aspect as she was breaking boundaries and comfort barriers for many at the time in the chess world by being an out of nowhere, problem child woman and beating some of the top-rated male chess players in the world. This show had plenty of hefty dramatic and even romantic storylines and wasn’t strictly just a chess story, but chances are you’ll still walk out of this series wanting to become a chess prodigy yourself, I know I did. It fired me up, I’m just too stupid to be too good at chess.
#9: The Book of Boba Fett-
As a Star Wars nerd and a Boba Fett defender, I was beyond hype that we were getting a story revolving around that character in any capacity. Granted, the final couple episodes did revolve a bit around The Mandalorian and Grogu and although I love those characters and that series, I was a bit disappointed in their intrusion. They have their own show to tell their story for gosh sake, why they need to infiltrate Boba’s?! Nonetheless though, we had some really cool Boba Fett lore explained and shown to us before all of that went down. We finally witnessed his escape from the Sarlacc Pit, saw him overthrow the Hutt dynasty and take over the throne of his empire, team up with Fennec Shand and kick some ass throughout the galaxy’s underworld. As a Boba Fett fan, this series was a great time and I’d argue the best thing Disney itself has done with the brand outside of The Mandalorian and maybe Force Awakens. Just a shame it was a miniseries of only a handful of episodes, but it makes it easier to go back and watch if and when I ever want to.
#8: The Crowded Room-
This is the only Apple TV series I’ve seen. My girlfriend heard good things about this show, so we got a free trial and binged it and it was well worth it. Tom Holland gives an absolute masterclass in acting throughout this series and I truly think this is easily the best acting performance I’ve seen him give so far. Amanda Seyfried is the co-star in this and delivers a great performance in her role as well. I can’t give too much of the plot of this one up because it would spoil the impact of the basis of this series, but it’s a very well-done court case and psychology study type of show that peels back layers as the episodes go. This is based on a true story and court case that took place in the 70s, and I recognized that partway through the show because I’m a true crime fan, but it didn’t ruin it for me by any means regardless because the story and acting was still so strong. If you’re into psychology, psychiatry, and/or criminal court cases then I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.
#7: The Pentaverate-
This is the recent Mike Myers work from Netflix and it’s absolutely Mike Myers at his most Mike Myersee. The story follows a down on his luck and recently fired Canadian journalist who tries to infiltrate and uncover the truth about a society of 5 powerful men who have controlled the world since 1347. If you’re not into Mike Myers as an actor or his kind of humor (Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, etc.), then this show will almost certainly not be for you. But, if you’re a Mike Myers guy like myself, then this is a must watch. I always feel like he’s been a bit underrated and fell off the radar for a long time. This was the return to form. He portrays like 6 or more different characters throughout the series and makes up a majority of the cast, the Mike Myers type humor (raunchy, immature, vulgar) is plentiful in this, and it’s just a fun, quick, easy, and hilarious watch.
#6: AHS: Freak Show-
Maybe this one is a bit of a cheat because American Horror Story is a full-blown television series, but it’s an anthology series so every season is an entirely different story, and this was my favorite season of AHS that I’ve seen. I kind of fell off keeping up with that show after like season 6, the 1984 season looks up my alley as well so that’s on my watch list, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to top ‘Freak Show’ for me. I like circus/carnival horror vibes anyways and that’s almost entirely what this season was. The story follows one of the last remaining freak shows in America in Jupiter, Florida in the 50s. They combine urban legends, serial killers, and real-life circus performer and killer clown stories into 1 series and it’s creepingly and unsettlingly beautiful. I also felt like the killers/villains in this season were the strongest and most entertaining that I’d seen in the series, at least for me. Twisty the Clown, Dandy, and Neil Patrick Harris’s ‘Chester’ were all seriously mentally messed up characters that I really enjoyed spending time with in this universe. Wouldn’t want to in real life obviously, but that’s another story.
#5: Midnight Mass-
Mike Flanagan has taken the throne as the king of the horror miniseries in recent years with his Netflix deal. He hasn’t really released anything totally weak under his name yet, but Midnight Mass is one of his very best. The story follows the arrival of a mysterious younger priest to a dying Catholic fishing town. With him comes miracles, dark mysteries, and renewed religious fervor to the citizens in the small community. What I liked about this story, aside from the creature horror, is the way it handles faith and religion. I consider myself faithful to a degree, I look to a higher power for guidance and help for myself and the people I love and it helps me take some weight off my chest personally, but I’m quiet about it and not necessarily what some would consider “religious” since I’m not really a church goer. This show walks that risky tight line with religion perfectly without settling on a side. There’s extremely religious characters in the show and complete non-believers as well and rather than make one side look wrong or incompetent, the show hears out both sides almost evenly and that’s a rare and cool take. You don’t see a lot of religious horror content out there that doesn’t revolve around demonic possession either and this show is entirely not that. It’s completely fresh and it’s awesome and if you haven’t seen it then you should.
#4: The Pacific-
This was the second Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks WW2 miniseries, following Band of Brothers about a decade earlier, and both of them are absolutely tremendous and in my mind some of the strongest miniseries of all time. This one follows the story of 3 Marines (Pfcs. Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and Sgt. John Basilone) and their time fighting Japan across Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, among other places, during the Pacific Theater in WW2. This show is and feels pretty real, as a lot of the content is taken from books written by Sledge and Leckie after the war, and Basilone was a famous Marine during the war. That’s basically to say, this show is pretty dark and brutal at times and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war and what it does to the physique of a young man after he’s out. That should basically be a given since a lot of the content was taken from personal journals and accounts, but Band of Brothers was a bit more heroic and valiant feeling in nature (still very dark and brutal at times), and this one felt a bit more drab through and through. Still a very important watch and very, very enthralling and well made.
#3: Haunting of Hill House-
The modern retelling of the classic Shirley Jackson novel and the first in what became a string of miniseries released by Mike Flanagan through Netflix may very well be him at his best in my opinion. The story follows a group of children (modern day adults) who grew up in what would later become known as the most famous haunted house in America. In the modern day as adults, family drama and tragedy force them all back together to face the ghosts of their past. This show is shot basically in 2 timelines that they flash between throughout the entire series, them as adults in the modern day, and them as children growing up in that house and the experiences they faced. Some of the scenes that take place throughout this series are genuinely terrifying and hair raising and I say that as someone who consumes a lot of horror content as well. I’m not usually a fan of jump scares either, they come off as cheap scares a lot, but they’re not overdone in this and the content is strong enough that it’s not relying on the jump scare too heavily. The few you do get are well executed though, and almost certain to catch you off guard. If you’re into horror and haven’t checked out Mike Flanagan’s miniseries on Netflix, this and Midnight Mass are both well worth it.
#2: True Detective: Season 1-
This is my second sort of cheat code because True Detective is an ongoing show, but like American Horror Story, it’s an anthology series by HBO with every season telling a different story. Season 1 was the absolute pinnacle of the series, granted I haven’t seen all of the rest. I’ve tried season 2 a few times and just couldn’t get drawn in and from everyone I’ve seen who has watched the entire series, the consensus still for most people is “nothing tops season 1”. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrellson deliver masterclass performances here as the titular detective characters ‘Rust Cohle’ and ‘Marty Hart’ and they play off each other extremely well, makes sense given they’re best friends in real life, but I haven’t seen them be able to act off of one another before this series and you get a whole lot of that here. The story follows a cult/murder investigation in Louisiana in the mid 90s and current day, cutting between flashback scenes to the 90s as the 2 detectives tell the story to investigators on the case in the modern-day, all in search of the ringleader of the operation “The Yellow King”. This is one of, if not my favorite detective investigation story ever and is absolutely worth the watch if you haven’t seen it.
#1: Band of Brothers-
The first of the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks WW2 miniseries’ follows the story of a paratrooper unit named “East Company” and the trials and tribulations they face making their way across Europe, starting during D-Day and continuing across France and Belgium in enemy territory and eventually marching their way into Germany till the ultimate end of their war, VE day. This is again a true story, with the characters in the show representing real life soldiers in the division during WW2 (much like The Pacific), and this series was done early enough that a lot of the real-life soldiers who made it through the war were still alive at the time and able to tell their experiences over the events that the show covered at the beginning of the episodes. This story showed a lot of the brotherhood and comradery aspect of war, you know every character’s name and who they are, but they are a very capable and elite military force that moves together like a unit more so than a group of individuals. Some of the strategies and attacks that this specific company used in battle to take over German territory are still taught and used today at West Point. I felt drawn to and close to every one of the soldiers in a way by the end of the show and that was because that’s how they felt about one another, and they made you feel that way as well. I was late to the party on this one because it originally aired in 2001, but to me it is still one of the best and most well-made TV series of all time.
That is all for this one, I really appreciate anyone who made it this far and took out the time to check the list. I enjoy doing these ‘Top’ list rankings and I’m certain I’ll get back to more in the future. In the meantime, check out the rest of my content on the blog and look for new posts weekly on my page!
