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.
8
‘Ripley’ (2024)
Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley leaning on a chair in Episode 5 of Netflix’s Ripley.Image via Netflix
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.
7
‘Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023)
Carla Gugino as the Red Death in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of UsherImage via Netflix
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.
6
‘Baby Reindeer’ (2024)
A still from Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.Image via Netflix
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.
5
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020)
Anya Taylor-Joy lit by a spotlight, looking ahead in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.Image via Netflix
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.
4
‘Adolescence’ (2025)
Owen Cooper sat wearing a green t-shirt in ‘Adolescence’©Netflix/ Courtesy Everett Collection
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.
3
‘Dracula’ (2020)
Claes Bang as Count Dracula in BBC One’s ‘Dracula’Image via BBC One
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.
2
‘Katla’ (2021)
A scene from the series Katla on NetflixImage via 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.
1
‘Unbelievable’ (2019)
Kaitlyn Dever as Marie Adler during a medical examination in Unbelievable.Image via Netflix
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.
Release Date
2019 – 2018
Directors
Michael Dinner
