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10 Best Netflix Miniseries, Ranked According To IMDb
If this is the Golden Age of television, then one of the most interesting characteristics of the era is the reduction in the number of episodes. In the days of cable and network TV, shows would last the best part of the year, with 24 episodes a season being standard. With the advent of streaming, it seems audiences have less patience. Releasing the entire series in one go is definitely a result of this; when a show was week-to-week, the drawn-out plot threads were less notable.
However, the shorter seasons allow for more refined storytelling, with creators now driven by telling a story well rather than making it last as long as possible. In fact, the mini-series is fast becoming a defining part of the era especially with Netflix delivering higher amounts of short but quality content. Here are ten of the best the streaming giant has to offer.
10 Maniac - 7.8 Stars
True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga directs every episode of this surreal but fascinating sci-fi drama. In an alternate reality without internet, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone play two misfits who agree to a drug trial for a new medicine that can, supposedly, cure their emotional pain.
Not only is the story well-told, but every inch of the production design and world-building is truly excellent. The nature of the show allows the creators to jump genre almost every episode so they can show off the best of their creativity in all 8 episodes.
9 The Pharmacist - 7.8 Stars
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The first of what will be many true crime documentaries (the appetite for them seems insatiable), The Pharmacist may have been overshadowed by the phenomenon that was Tiger King, but it is arguably far better.
It focuses on Dan Schneider, a small town Pharmacist who wants justice for the death of his son. Soon he stumbles upon a much bigger story, and his small investigation opens up a nation-wide crisis. At only four episodes, it tells its story of real-life heroism succinctly and fairly.
8 Unorthodox - 8.0 Stars
From Anna Winger comes a miniseries based on a true story. Esther Shapiro is a young woman in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family. She has never been outside of her New York community, and faced with the life of a traditional wife and mother, she decides to leave and begin again in Berlin.
It's a fascinating study of the Orthodox culture whilst also being an inspiring story about self-discovery and reinvention, which should never be as much a struggle as it is for Esther.
7 Don't F*Ck With Cats - 8.1 Stars
This series already has some notoriety for its inclusion of real footage of animal cruelty and murder, which may be too upsetting for some viewers. The series begins with a group of online activists who find a video of extreme animal cruelty and are determined to find who did it.
It certainly grabs the audience's attention as the mystery and the thrill of the hunt begins to unravel, however, the story keeps getting darker. It's an interesting look at how internet culture can be morally ambiguous, despite what motivates the users.
