With the streaming boom, studios have been able to change how they tell stories. No longer does a creator need to decide between a long-winded series or a movie that will not give the characters enough time to grow. Instead, audiences now get six to 10-episode series that gives more than a film but doesn’t feel as daunting as a multiple-season series. Streaming has allowed studios to fully invest in miniseries with much more fervor than network television has in the past, giving fans great casts, stunning settings, and incredible stories that continue to be discussed after their close. Although we are only two years into the 2020s, studios have delivered some incredible miniseries so far.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Joe vs. Carol (2022)
Peacock
Joe vs. Carole is a scripted series following the drama surrounding the Tiger King, Joe Exotic, and his arch-rival Carole Baskin. Creator Etan Frankel has made an entertaining story even more compelling with his use of slow-mo and an excellent cast, including John Cameron Mitchell, Dean Winters, and Kate McKinnon. McKinnon steals every scene she is in as cool cat Carole Baskin and is able to mix humor with the seriousness of being the target of a murder-for-hire. Joe vs. Carole is now streaming on Peacock.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 The Offer (2022)
Paramount Global Distribution
The Offer is a biographical drama about the making of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola’s classic crime drama. The 10-episode series follows the film from its inception to the 1973 Oscars. The Offer shows the story from the eyes of producer Al Ruddy (Miles Teller) as he deals with production drama and threats from the mafia. Teller is joined by a wonderful cast of stars including Dan Fogler as Coppola and Burn Gorman as Paramount president Charles Bluhdorn. The Offer is now available on Paramount+
7 Under The Banner of Heaven (2022)
Disney Platform Distribution
Under the Banner of Heaven is an interesting true-crime drama about two detectives, Andrew Garfield and Gil Birmingham, investigating a murder with connections to the LDS. Under the Banner of Heaven show a violent interpretation of faith while Andrew Garfield delivers another amazing performance as Mormon detective Jeb Pyre, who battles with his belief as he dives deeper into his investigation. Under the Banner of Heaven is now streaming on Hulu.
6 Women of the Movement (2022)
ABC
Women of the Movement is about the brutal murder of Emmett Till in the Jim Crow south and the trial that followed. The ABC series centers on Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley played by Adrienne Warren, and how she handled the racially motivated murder of her son. Warren delivers an Emmy-worthy performance as Till-Mobley being both emotional and powerful in this heartbreaking role. The Women of the Movement is available for streaming on Hulu.
5 The Dropout (2022)
The Dropout is about the rise and fall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Amanda Seyfried is outstanding as the disgraced inventor and easily gives fans her best performance to date. The Dropout gives us a linear story of Holmes’ life from her high school years to the downfall of her career and her exposure as a fraud. Creator Elizabeth Meriwether’s choice of bright lighting mixes well with Holmes’s optimism throughout the series and gives audiences a beautiful show. The Dropout is now available on Hulu.
4 Hollywood (2020)
Netflix
Ryan Murphy adds Hollywood to his long list of fantastic shows. The show follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Murphy recreates post-World War II Hollywood with his typical flair, giving us a beautiful color palette and gorgeous wide shots. Jim Parsons and the star-studded cast dazzle audiences with their performances, while the costuming is hard to look away from. Hollywood is now streaming on Netflix.
3 We Own This City (2022)
HBO
Jon Bernthal is incredible as the crooked Sergeant Wayne Jenkins in We Own This City. The show centers on the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force and the corruption that led to the convictions of eight Baltimore officers. The non-linear narrative gives you the rise and fall of the task force simultaneously while giving audiences a fresh take on how stories like this are typically told. We Own This City is now available on HBO Max.
2 The Queen’s Gambit (2020)
The Queen’s Gambit quickly became one of Netflix’s most-watched series when it was released in 2020. It was not a shock that the show, which centers around chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), was such a success, with Taylor-Joys’s dazzling performance and Steven Meizler’s beautiful cinematography. The Queen’s Gambit was well received for its accurate portrayals of chess tournaments and the way it made the game feel exciting for all audiences, while also delivering an iconic, deeply flawed but beautiful character with Beth. The Queen’s Gambit is now streaming on Netflix.
1 Dopesick (2021)
Dopesick is an incredible series about Purdue Pharma and the opioid epidemic. Michael Keaton delivers one of his best performances as a doctor in a small rural mining town that became one of the epicenters of the opioid crisis. Dopesick tells the story from the start of Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin to the epidemic we are now facing. Based on the book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy, Dopesick excellently mixes multiple storylines together to give audiences an accurate representation of how a person could easily become addicted to opioids after being prescribed OxyContin, and the devastating consequences of this individually and communally. Dopesick is now streaming on Hulu.
Single-season, self-contained miniseries are a major part of the many amazing shows bursting through the gates of 2020, and audiences can only be excited for what’s to come in the following years. With bigger budgets and well-thought-out scripts, fans can expect to see large-scale stories and bigger A-list casts coming to our favorite streaming services.
