Best limited series

A limited series tells one story and ends. No cliffhangers left hanging, no fifth season that wears out its welcome. Each pick here ran for a single season of 12 episodes or fewer. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 200 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.

1
Band of Brothers (2001)
TV8.4
Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these...
US HBO, Netflix, UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
2
Chernobyl (2019)
TV8.5
The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
US HBO, Amazon Prime (buy), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
3
The Penguin (2024)
TV8.4
With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and...
4
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
TV8.6
In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.
US Netflix, UK Netflix
5
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
TV8.2
Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and...
US BritBox, Hulu, UK BBC, UKTV Play
6
1883 (2021)
TV8.4
Follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America.
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime (buy), iTunes (buy)
7
Lessons in Chemistry (2023)
TV8.2
In the 1950s, Elizabeth Zott's dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere.
US Apple TV+, UK Apple TV+
8
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
TV8.1
The Crains, a fractured family, confront haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
US Netflix, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Netflix
9
Dopesick (2021)
TV8.1
The story of how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history.
US Hulu, UK Disney
10
Black Bird (2022)
TV8.1
As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall...
US Apple TV+, UK Apple TV+
11
Normal People (2020)
TV8.0
Marianne and Connell weave in and out of each other’s lives in this exploration of sex, power and the desire to love and be loved.
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK BBC, Amazon Prime (buy)
12
Adolescence (2025)
TV7.8
When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really...
13
Watchmen (2019)
TV7.9
Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic...
US HBO, Amazon Prime (buy), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
14
American Primeval (2025)
TV7.7
A mother and son fleeing from their past form a found family while confronting a harsh landscape of freedom and cruelty in the American West.
15
The Pacific (2010)
TV7.7
Track the intertwined real-life stories of three U.S.
US HBO, Netflix, UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
16
All Her Fault (2025)
TV8.1
In Chicago, Marissa Irvine arrives at 14 Arthur Avenue, expecting to pick up her young son Milo from his first playdate with a boy at his new school.
17
The Night Manager (2016)
TV7.9
Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the...
US Amazon Prime, BritBox, UK Amazon Prime, BBC
18
Chief of War (2025)
TV7.4
With Hawaii's four kingdoms divided by war, the ferocious warrior Kaʻiana embarks on an epic mission to unite his people, as an existential threat...
19
Unbelievable (2019)
TV8.1
A teenager is charged with lying about her rape allegation, but two determined investigative female detectives discover a far more sinister truth.
US Netflix, UK Netflix
20
Midnight Mass (2021)
TV7.6
An unsettling omen washes ashore in the wake of the storm.
US Netflix, UK Netflix