Miniseries

A miniseries (also frequently referred to as a limited series) is a multi-part drama that airs a pre-determined number of episodes on television. It differs from a traditional television show by the fact that it tells a self-contained story, with no intention of stretching out the concept over multiple seasons. For this reason, production values are frequently more lavish than for a regular series, and the cast usually includes big-name non-TV stars.

In the past, miniseries were often "event television" and aired on multiple nights in the same week, sometimes even on consecutive nights. Many miniseries are adaptations of large books, and as such differ from other shows in that they place a high value identifying the author, to the point that the author's name is frequently embedded in the program's title. Miniseries in this vein were often epic melodramas, and consequently the concept of a "miniseries" gained something of a stigma. By the 1990s, however, thanks to a glut of bad mini-series produced largely as a method for the networks to juice their ratings during "Sweeps" weeks, and with the networks tightening budgets and therefore decreasing the length of mini-series, they gradually fell out of favor.

In more recent times, miniseries episodes often air at the same weekly time slot or all at once on a streaming service. This, combined with television's trend toward serialization, has blurred the lines between a miniseries and a normal television show. Some television series that originated as miniseries have even got expanded into multiple seasons.

The concept of a miniseries varies outside of the United States. British series often air only short, heavily serialized seasons, so the entire run of a British show might be akin to an American miniseries and be aired on American television as such. In Asian countries, the concept of TV seasons is much weaker, and miniseries tend to be the de facto style of TV programming for dramas, with anything from 10 to 100 episodes per series.

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Examples:

• 7 Yüz (7 Faces)
• The 10th Kingdom
• 10.5: This is a Disaster Movie miniseries made for NBC. It has...problems.
• The 4400: This was a Mini Series that proved popular enough to be transformed into a traditional Dramatic Hour Long show.
• 37 Days
• 17776 is an Internet example, being published daily on SB Nation for 10 days in July of 2017.
• The ABC Murders
• A&E:
  • Made tons of miniseries, many of which were adaptations of classic literature, many of which in conjunction with a UK network, usually ITV:
    • Horatio Hornblower
• AD: The Bible Continues: A NBC followup to The History Channel's The Bible (2013).
• Alias Grace
• The Alienist: Originally a miniseries based on the Caleb Carr novel of the same name, it proved popular enough to get a second season based on the follow-up novel The Angel of Darkness.
• Amerika
• The Andromeda Strain: This is a Sci Fi Channel miniseries reimagining the Michael Crichton novel.
• Angelyne
• Angels in America: This play was turned into a miniseries on HBO. Starring Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, and Mary-Louise Parker (among others), it went on to surpass Roots (1977) in Emmy wins.
• Anne Frank: The Whole Story
• ANZACs
• ANZAC Girls
• Apple Tree Yard
• Arabian Nights
• Arrowverse
  • Flash vs. Arrow
  • Heroes Join Forces
  • Invasion! (2016)
  • Crisis on Earth-X
  • Elseworlds (2018)
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019)
• Ascension
• The Assets
• The Astronaut Wives Club
• A Teacher (2020)
• Attila
• ANZAC Girls
• Band of Brothers
• Battlestar Galactica (2003): This was a Mini Series that proved popular enough to be transformed into a traditional Dramatic Hour Long show.
• Bayan Ko - A Filipino Government Procedural miniseries.
• Berlin Alexanderplatz
• Behind Her Eyes
• Beyond the Walls
• Black Bird
• The Bletchley Circle
• The Blue and the Gray
• The Blue Knight: One of the earliest successes within the format (1973).
• Burning Bush
• The BBC:
  • This network is fond of creating mini series of classic literature:
    • Pride and Prejudice (1995): one of their most loved is a six part mini series; yes, the one with Colin Firth.
    • Our Mutual Friend (three different mini-series, from 1958, 1976, and 1998)
    • Bleak House
    • Little Dorrit
    • The Mystery of Edwin Drood
    • David Copperfield' (a two-part mini-series in 1999)
    • Emma: Their four part mini series of this film.
    • The Portrait of a Lady: The 1968 6-part mini series based on the Henry James novel.
    • And Then There Were None (2015)
    • Dracula (2020)
    • Cranford (adapted into three mini-series, in 1951, 1972, and 2007. The 2007 version was followed by a two-part sequel in 2009.)
    • North and South (three mini-series, in 1966 ^note now lost, 1975, and 2004)
• The Bible (2013)
• Boo Bitch
• Das Boot (1985 recut)
• The Brontës of Haworth
• The Canterbury Tales — three-part Animated Adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's stories
• Cartoon Network has dabbled in doing this for some of their animated programming, with both original miniseries and some story arcs for their other shows (such as Adventure Time) being treated as such:
  • Apple & Onion initially began as a miniseries before a full series was commissioned.
  • Infinity Train was initially promoted as a miniseries, but ended up being more of an anthology.
  • Long Live the Royals
  • Over the Garden Wall
  • Steven Universe: Future, a limited Sequel Series meant to serve as an epilogue for Steven Universe
• Casanova (2005): This is a show by The BBC.
• The Casual Vacancy
• Catch-22
• Cenerentola
• Centennial
• Charite
  • Charité at War
• Chernobyl
• The Cherry Queen
• Chiefs
• Childhood's End: An adaptation of the Arthur C. Clarke novel, Childhood's End
• Classics Dark and Dangerous
• Cleopatra (1999)
• Clickbait
• Clue: This is a show by The Hub.
• Collateral (2018)
• The Confessions of Frannie Langton
• The Continental
• Count Dracula (1977): The BBC made this, one of the most comprehensive adaptations of the novel to exist.
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Critters: A New Binge: An eight-episode web series based on the Critters film series that originally premiered on the streaming service Shudder.
• Crows Blood
• Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
• Daisy Jones & The Six
• A Dangerous Life (1988) was originally this, clocking in around 6 hours total, before being cut down to film length.
• Davy Crockett: This appeared in 1955.
• The Day of the Triffids (1981): The 1981 BBC adaptation of John Wyndham's sci-fi classic.
• The Day of the Triffids (2009): The 2009 BBC adaptation of John Wyndham's sci-fi classic.
• Dead Set
• Deadwater Fell
• Delete
• Delhi Crime
• Desperate Romantics
• Devil In Ohio: Based on the book of the same name.
• The Devil to Pay in the Backlands: This is a 1985 Brazilian miniseries based on the book of the same name.
• Devs
• Dieppe
• Dinotopia: An adaptation of the illustrated book series of the same name.
• Dopesick
• Dream West
• Dune: The first three books in this series were made into two miniseries. The first was plagued by a low budget; the second had a slightly higher budget and was better. Frank Herbert's Dune and Children of Dune: The 2000s' adaptations of these books.
• Earthsea: A 2004 Sci-Fi Channel Adaptation Distillation of Ursula K. Le Guin's first two ''Earthsea novels—and infamously disowned by the author over the changes made.
• Equal
• Escape at Dannemora
• Fast Layne
• Fatal Vision
• Favorite Son: This is a 1988 NBC miniseries based on the 1987 book of the same name.
• Fearless
• Five Days At Memorial
• Fleishman Is In Trouble
• Flesh and Bone
• Foundation (2021)
• The Forsyte Saga: The format was created by this, a British series made in 1967 which pioneered the "finite series" concept and proved quite popular in the United States.
• Fresno: This is a little known Affectionate Parody of 1980s soaps.
• From the Earth to the Moon
• Fujiko
• Gallipoli (2015)
• Gaslit
• Generation Kill
• Giri/Haji
• Glue
• Golden Years
• Good Omens (2019) was originally planned as this, but was later renewed for a second season.
• Grant
• Guerrilla
• Guest from the Future: This is a 1984 Soviet miniseries based on Alice, Girl from the Future.
• Gulliver's Travels (1996): A 1996 NBC miniseries based on the 1726 novel by Jonathan Swift.
• Gunpowder
• Heroes Reborn (2015)
• Hitler: The Rise of Evil
• The Hobbits
• Holocaust
• House of Frankenstein (1997)
• House of Saddam
• Human Trafficking
• I Am the Night
• I, Claudius
• I Know This Much Is True
• I Love You, You Hate Me: A 2-part Peacock Documentary examining the hatred of Barney & Friends.
• Informer
• Inquisitio: This is an eight episode French series set in The Late Middle Ages.
• Inside Man
• In the Flesh
• Into The West
• Inventing Anna
• The Invisible Man (1984)
• It (1990)
• Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
• The Jacksons: An American Dream
• Jale Prep
• Jason and the Argonauts
• Jesus (1999)
• Jesus of Nazareth
• Joan of Arc
• John Adams
• Julius Caesar (2003)
• Kaleidoscope (2023)
• Keep Breathing
• The Kennedys
  • The Kennedys After Camelot
• Kindergarten
• Klondike
• Lace
• Lace II
• Lost Ollie: A 4-part Netflix Mini Series based on William Joyce's children's novel Ollie's Odyssey.
• Love & Death
• The Langoliers
• Lexx: This was a Mini Series that proved popular enough to be transformed into a traditional Dramatic Hour Long show.
• Life and Fate
• The Little Drummer Girl
• Lonesome Dove and its many sequels.
• The Looming Tower
• The Lost Room
• The Lost World (2001)
• Love, Lies and Murder
• Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
• Marry Me (2010)
• The Martian Chronicles: An adaptation of Ray Bradbury's collection of linked short stories of the same name, airing in 1979.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe: Disney+ Spin-Off of the Captain America and Avengers films.
  • The Defenders (2017)
  • WandaVision
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
  • Hawkeye (2021)
  • Moon Knight (2022)
  • Ms. Marvel (2022)
• Masada
• Master of the Game and If Tomorrow Comes: Both of these are based on Sidney Sheldon novels. Many of his books became made-for-TV movies, often two-parters, but these are the only ones that warrant the miniseries name, as both are at least five hours long apiece.
• Masterpiece Theatre: Which broadcast The Forsyte Saga to an American audience, became a major venue for British-made miniseries.
• McMillion$
• The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed
• The Men Who Built America: a 2012 series on The History Channel telling the story of the wealthy industrialists who spearheaded the industrial development of the United States during The Gilded Age.
• Merlin (1998)
• Middle School Moguls
• Midnight Mass (2021)
• Mildred Pierce
• Millennium
• Miracle's Boys
• Mnemosyne: A 2008 Urban Fantasy anime series aired as a Milestone Celebration for the adult-oriented network AT-X, consisting of six 45-minute episodes detailing the adventures of an immortal private detective named Rin Asougi from 1990 to 2055.
• Moby-Dick
• A Moody Christmas
• Moses the Lawgiver
• Mrs. America
• Murder Among The Mormons
• Napoléon
• National Treasure (2016)
• Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter
• Neverland
• The New Edition Story
• The Night Manager
• The Night Of
• The Thing About Pam
• North and South
• North and South (U.S.)
• Nuremberg
• The Odyssey (1997), a 1997 adaptation of the Homeric epic starring Armand Assante.
• O.J.: Made in America
• Oktoberfest 1900
• Olive Kitteridge
• Oliver's Travels
• Ordeal by Innocence
• Our Friends in the North: A 1996 British miniseries that launched the careers of Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston and Mark Strong.
• Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart.
• Over the Garden Wall
• The Pacific
• The Pact
• Pam & Tommy
• The Patient
• Pennies from Heaven
• The Pentaverate
• Persons Unknown
• The Plot Against America
• Political Animals
• Profit Was originally meant to be a television series starring a Villain Protagonist, but viewers at the time weren't ready for this, resulting in low ratings. The show was cancelled and pulled from the network. The writers changed the plot to conclude a lot sooner than intended, making it a miniseries and released it again on video. It has since enjoyed a strong cult following.
• Portrait of a Marriage
• Pride and Prejudice (1995)
• Primal (2019) was initially labelled as this, but strong critical reception resulted in it getting renewed for a second season before the first had finished.
• The Principal
• The Prisoner (2009): Loose remake of the Patrick McGoohan 1960s original.
• The Pillars of the Earth: This is a 2010 miniseries adapted from the novel of the same name.
• QB VII: This was broadcast in 1974.
• The Queen's Gambit
• Quiz: Based on a 2001 attempt to cheat on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
• Red Planet: An animated three-episode miniseries adapted from the Robert A. Heinlein book of the same name that aired on FOX in 1994.
• Reilly, Ace of Spies
• The Revolution (2006): This is a 2006 series on The History Channel going into the history of The American Revolution.
• Roots (1977): The most significant mini series (in terms of its place in both ratings and television history) was this show in 1977. Its cultural impact — mostly due to the momentum it gained though its then-daring eight-nights-in-a-row broadcast schedule — turned the Mini Series into a major event. A follow-up, Roots: The Next Generations, arrived in 1979, and 1988 brought the TV movie Roots: The Gift.
  • Roots (2016): The updated remake of the above miniseries.
  • Queen (1993)
• Rose Red
• Rumbata, Ronaldo and I
• 'Salem's Lot: Stephen King's novel was adapted into two different miniseries, first in 1979 and again in 2004.
• Samurai Girl: This is based on the book series of the same name.
• Samurai Jack (2017) is officially the fifth season of Samurai Jack. It premiered eleven years after the series previously ended, aired on [adult swim] instead of Cartoon Network, had a heavily serialized story, and was intended to definitively end the series.
• Sanburg's Lincoln: This was the first American miniseries, broadcast in 6 parts between 1974 and 1975.
• The Santa Clauses: Conceived as a limited series, but was renewed for a second season in December 2022.
• The Scarlet Pimpernel: This is a BBC adaptation from 1999. 2 installments, 6 episodes.
• Scream: Resurrection
• The Second Coming
• Seventeen Moments of Spring
• Sharpe: There are two additional miniseries from 2006 and 2008.
• Sharp Objects
• Shogun
• Signora Volpe
• The Singing Detective
• Single Father
• The Sinking of the Laconia
• The Snow Queen (2002)
• Speer Und Er
• The Spoils of Babylon is a parody of "event" miniseries of the 1970s and 1980s, based on a fictional epic romance novel by "Eric Jonrosh," played by Will Ferrell. Followed up by a second miniseries entitled The Spoils Before Dying
• The Spy
• The Stand by Stephen King:
• The Stand
• The Stand (2020)
• State of Play
• Storm of the Century
• Stranger Things: Originally aired as a miniseries, but was expended into multiple seasons due to its success.
• Strumpet City
• Taken (No relation to the movie of the same name)
• The Temptations
• Texas Rising
• The Third Day
• This Is America, Charlie Brown
• The Thorn Birds
• Tin Man
• Titanic (1996)
• Titanic (2012)
• Tokyo Trial
• Too Old to Die Young
• Torchwood: Children of Earth
• Torchwood: Miracle Day ^note Ten episodes, which is only three less than a normal Torchwood series.
  • The main difference coming from the incredibly serialized nature of Miracle Day, with one plotline running strongly throughout the entire run, as opposed to the more standalone nature of the first two seasons.
• Torn
• To the Ends of the Earth: This is adapted from a trilogy by author William Golding.
• Trainwreck: Woodstock '99
• Troy: Fall of a City
• Treasure Island (2012)
• Tut
• Tweeny Witches
• Unbelievable
• The Undeclared War
• The Undoing
• Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (Our Mothers, Our Fathers)
• V (1983): Which actually consisted of two separate mini-series, with the second receiving the subtitle The Final Battle. These were followed by a standard season-based TV series.
• The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
• The Victim
• The Vietnam War: A documentary series about the war.
• Villainous
• Waco
• Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
• War and Peace adaptations:
  • War and Peace (2007)
  • War and Peace (2016)
• Watchmen (2019)
• Watership Down (2018)
• Weak Hero Class 1
• WeCrashed
• Welcome to Chippendales
• We Own This City
• Welcome to the Wayne was originally conceived as this before being turned into a full series in 2017.
• When They See Us
• White House Farm
• White House Plumbers
• The Winds of War
  • War and Remembrance: a sequel to the above
• Wild Palms
• The Witcher: Blood Origin
• Wives and Daughters: There are two adaptations by the BBC from 1971 and 1999.
• Wizards (2020)
• Women of the Movement
• Years and Years
• The Young Pope
  • The New Pope, though some would consider it as "Season 2 of The Young Pope".
• Zero Zero Zero

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