Top 10 TV Miniseries

Written by Jordan Ruimy.

Top 10 TV Miniseries

This TV medium allows for slow and detailed storytelling and complex characters. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 TV miniseries.

For this list, we’re looking at TV series that were created with a pre-decided number of episodes in mind – meaning that these series were self-contained and not meant to be renewed. Shows like “True Detective” have not been included because, while it has been categorized by some as a miniseries, the number of episodes this show will air has yet to be determined, so it does not qualify.

#10: “Lonesome Dove” (1989)

Taking its story from Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, this CBS western miniseries helped breathe new life into the medium and the genre. Starring Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and Anjelica Huston, among others, thisminiseries garnered a whopping 18 Emmy nominations, winning seven. With an all-star cast and drama to die for, this six-hour special not only raked in awards; it also attracted the attention of approximately 26-million households, who tuned in for the event. Split into four parts, this epic got us interested in life in the old west.

#9: “Battlestar Galactica” (2003)

Aired on the SyFy Channel, this re-imagining of the original 1978 cult series of the same also served as a backdoor pilot to introduce a revamped version of the show the following year. The last remaining members of humankind are on the run from the pursuing robots, called Cylons, that are out to exterminate the entire race, while simultaneously searching for their true home, Earth. A three-hour run of incredible drama, top-notch action and mind-blowing special effects, this was the start of what would be a landmark television series.

#8: “From the Earth to the Moon” (1998)

Co-produced by Tom Hanks, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, this ambitious project set its stakes high – especially considering the three men had previously been involved in the successful big-screen film “Apollo 13.” This dramatized portrayal of the American manned space program from the ‘60s and ‘70s; this HBO docudrama mixed real-life footage and fictionally recreated material in creative and dramatic ways. Thanks to stunning visual effects that raised the bar for what TV can do, this miniseries went above and beyond expectations.

#7: “The Odyssey” (1997)

There aren’t many filmmakers with enough guts to take on the production of Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey.” But director Andrei Konchalovsky and NBC partnered up for this ambitious two-part project, which ended up winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries. Lavish, epic and brilliant, this small screen adaptation had wild expectations to meet, and with a star-studded cast, exotic filming locations and meticulous filmmaking, it told brought Homer’s story to life in a way a shorter production would not have been able to do.

#6: “Gulliver’s Travels” (1996)

Based on Jonathan Swift’s novel of the same name, this adaptation is unique from other retellings of the tale in that it features each one of the four trips described in Swift’s source material. Featuring an A-list cast and large-scale filmmaking, the series recounts through flashbacks the voyages of a man who in the present day finds himself in an insane asylum. And though that exact storytelling device is not featured in the novel, the rest of the two-part seriesremains relatively faithful to the original story and its fantastical lands.

#5: “V” (1983)

When an alien race comes to Earth asking for help, a few suspicious humans suspect their horrific true intentions and prepare to resist. Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson and inspired by a 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel, this adaptation was the first of many installments in the franchise concerning “The Visitors.” Deeply dark but thoughtful science fiction, the series is seen as a parable of the Nazi movement, the Holocaust and WWII, with the aliens even wearing similar uniforms and symbols to the Nazi party, which ensured this miniseries appealed to a wide audience.

#4: “Angels in America” (2003)

Adapting his own Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play for the screen with Mike Nichols as director, playwright Tony Kushner’s gamble paid off gloriously: his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the 1980s was shatteringly surreal and moving. Intersecting the lives of six New Yorkers affected by the disease, the HBO drama was the year’s most-watched TV movie and set an Emmy record with 21 nominations, including 11 wins. With Hollywood heavyweights like Meryl Streep, Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in lead roles, the six-hour production redefined the made-for-TV movie.

#3: “Planet Earth” (2006)

This BBC series comprised eleven episodes that trekked to the far-reaches of the globe, to show off a different environment each installment, all in glorious high definition. The first HD BBC nature documentary series, and – at the time – the broadcaster’s most expensive, “Planet Earth” was a visually stunning feast for the eyes, with each episode featuring some of the most astonishing nature footage ever captured. With the British version narrated by famed English naturalist David Attenborough, this award-winning nature series helped us all appreciate our planet a little more.

#2: “Roots” (1977)

This 1977 epic, eight-part miniseries about African-American slavery was the talk of America. Based on author Alex Haley’s novel, which told the story of his own family through the generations, beginning with ancestor Kunta Kinte’s enslavement to his descendant’s eventual liberation. Though the series provided a stark look at the white population’s involvement in slave trading, it didn’t scare away viewers, and in fact an estimated 85% of all homes with a TV saw at least part of the award-winning “Roots.”

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- “The Boys of St. Vincent” (1992)
- “I, Claudius” (1976)
- “The Stand” (1994)
- “The Bible” (2013)
- “The 10th Kingdom” (2000)

#1: “Band of Brothers” (2001)

After working together on “Saving Private Ryan,” Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg decided to do more to honor the sacrifice and courage of WWII soldiers; they then partnered to co-produce this incredible dramatization of “Easy” Company. Taking viewers on the journey from training to the bloody battlefield, this HBO miniseries put the audience in the middle of the terrifying action. Though its companion series, “The Pacific,” later expanded the scope of the wartime storytelling, the original ten-part miniseries was unlike anything that came before it, and that helped “Band of Brothers” take home seven Primetime Emmy Awards.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite TV miniseries? For more Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.