The best mini-series 2024
Television fiction manifests itself in various ways and one of the most accessible are mini-series, or limited series as they have recently been called, since they present a closed story over a handful of episodes. Therefore, they are a perfect option for those looking to see something without running the risk of it going on forever.
The miniseries format is the best thing that can happen to television, the stories are not as short as the movies, but you don’t have to watch dozens of episodes and several seasons to know the ending, which makes them ideal. You can find great miniseries on every platform, but if you want to see something new or more current, there are a few that are excellent this year.
Mare of Easttown
You need a whole day to let yourself be absorbed by this series starring Kate Winslet, and trust us: you won’t regret it. Created by Brad Ingelsby and directed by Craig Zobel, this HBO series is an exemplary crime drama where it is as important to find the murderer as it is to discover if the protagonist will be able to overcome her personal problems. Mare of Easttown is an investigative story that places less emphasis on the case itself than on the characters and atmosphere of this small town.
Chernobyl
What can we tell you about Chernobyl that you don’t already know? One of the great cultural phenomena of recent years. It is not only a chronicle about the biggest nuclear disaster in history, but also a timely reflection on truth and lies.
Keep Breathing
All Liv (Melissa Barrera) wanted to do was catch a flight to Canada. He bribes her to board a private plane after her commercial flight was delayed. Unfortunately, this change in plans costs him. The private plane ends up making an unplanned detour, crashing somewhere in the Canadian wilderness, leaving Liv to survive on her own. Does Liv survive her ordeal? We know the series is all about survival, but Keep Breathing delivers a stunning landscape that is a feast for the eyes.
Inside Man
The Netflix miniseries tells several stories that are intertwined despite taking place in the United States and England. One follows Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci), a former criminology professor who was sentenced to death for murdering his wife. The other story connects him with Beth Davenport (Lydia West), a British investigative reporter on criminal issues, who turns to Grieff to help her find her missing friend. The missing person is Janice Fife (Dolly Wells), a math teacher who is locked in a basement.
Inventing Anna
The series is inspired by an article published in New York Magazine. Its author, Jessica Pressler, who also works as a producer of ‘Inventing Anna’, gave the world an absolutely fascinating story. And also absolutely real. The story follows a journalist with a lot to prove, Vivian (Anna Chlumsky), who investigates the case of Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), the legendary German Instagram heiress. But is Anna the biggest con artist in New York, or is she simply the new picture of the American dream? Anna and the journalist form a dark and hilarious love-hate bond as Anna awaits trial, and the reporter fights against time to answer the biggest question in New York society: who is Anna Delvey?
Maid
Based on a true story that also saw the light of day in book form, Maid tells the experiences of a young woman who, after leaving an abusive relationship, is forced to do what she had never thought of in order to raise her daughter. Her best weapon is the sensational performance of Margaret Qualley, who manages to capture the viewer and emotionally involve us in the difficult process that her character goes through.
Midnight Mass
The best Netflix miniseries to date is a Mike Flanagan project. Here we have a drama about a community marked by grief that is shaken by the appearance of a supernatural element that causes everything to change. With a great job of setting, a measured pace and a great job of its cast, it is an absorbing work where everything falls into place.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
“The Haunting of Bly Manor” tells the story of Dani, a young governess who decides to move to London and apply for a job taking care of two orphaned children in an old house on the outskirts of the city. There she will have to give an education to the children and live with the rest of the staff, which include a cook, the housekeeper, the gardener; and she will begin to perceive various ghostly presences from the Bly Manor mansion.
When They See Us
When They See Us is a Netflix miniseries that shows how five young people were unjustly jailed for a crime they didn’t commit in Central Park. There are few cases that have generated such a stir in North America as did the Central Park Five, a group of young men of African-American descent who were wrongly accused of a brutal sexual assault. After serving between six and 14 years in prison, the confession of the true culprit came to light, causing a breakdown in the penal system and the largest compensation in the history of the United States.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Monster: Jeffrey Dahmer Story, is a miniseries about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer accused of killing more than a dozen individuals, including several children, in Milwaukee and Ohio, between 1978 and 1991.
The Dropout
The Dropout: The Rise and Fall of Elizabeth Holmes is a fictional series full of ambition and fame that stars Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest billionaire woman in the world categorized as “the next Steve Jobs”, but everything changes when she loses everything from one moment to the next.
Black Bird
The premise of Black Bird is irresistible. Jimmy Keene faces 10 years in prison for drug trafficking, but is offered a tempting release in exchange for a small job. He must transfer to a maximum security prison and befriend an alleged serial killer, to extract a confession and information on where his victims are buried. The most impressive thing about the miniseries is that it is a true story and is based on the memories of Keene himself.
We Own This City
This is the true story of a group of corrupt police officers who are members of the GTTF (Gun Trace Task Force), created especially to clean the streets and make them safer, but who end up becoming the main problem for citizens, especially African Americans. The series brings to the screen the investigation that Justin Fenton did and that he later narrated in his book “We Own This City”. The journalist worked for years on the case of this group of corrupt police officers that culminated in more than 10 detectives sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison.
Five days at Memorial
Heartbreaking medical drama that takes us to those moments after Hurricane Katrina. Five Days at Memorial is a chronicle based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Sheri Fink. Which follows for five days the events that transpired at the Memorial Medical Center hospital in New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina.
Pam & Tommy
This delicious exploration of a sex scandal leads us to a tale of fame and sex tapes centered around Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. The famous story of the candid video between Anderson and Lee. In the early 1990s, a disgruntled ex-worker stole a homemade sex tape from the couple and used it to get revenge and get rich. The tape became the first viral tape in history before the internet. Pam & Tommy makes viewers think about one of Anderson’s toughest moments. In addition, the interpretation of Sebastian Stan and Lily James makes the fiction in Disney+ even more impressive.
Under the Banner of Heaven
The story tells how two brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty (played in the series by Sam Worthington and Wyatt Russell, respectively), commit a barbaric crime (double murder) and claim that God ordered the “removal” of the two victims, distorted concepts of the Mormon religion of which they were practitioners.
The Essex Serpent
An exploration of faith and science that leads us to a small community surrounded by a myth. Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes star in this period drama full of mystery and supernatural elements. Danes is a widowed woman who decides to go with her son to a small town in Essex where there are rumors that an ancient snake has killed a teenager and that it may be some kind of demon sent to punish sinners. There she encounters a priest who is her ally but also gets into big trouble while trying to help her.
The Staircase
Starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, the series follows writer Michael Peterson, who has been devastated by the death of his wife Kathleen. Although he claims that he fell down the stairs, Peterson will be charged with murder.
Defending Jacob
Based on the novel of the same name and starring Chris Evans, ‘Defending Jacob’ follows the story of Andy Barber, an assistant prosecutor who, faced with a murder case, sees how all the evidence leads to his own son. Thus, torn between his duty to justice and his love for his son, he must try to solve the crime, whose victim is a 14-year-old boy, his son’s classmate.