Quite often, we spend hours scrolling streaming platforms hoping to discover great new shows but never actually jump into one because they have many seasons and that requires a lot of commitment. So, to help you, we decided to compile a list of some of the more recent, and obviously brilliant miniseries that you can binge during the weekend.
1. Chernobyl
Chernobyl has to be the best mini-series to have aired in the last couple of years. The show dramatises the events that led to the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and the far-reaching consequences of it in its 4 episodes. It’s dark, gritty, investigative, but at its heart, it is a deeply humane experience.
2. Mare of Easttown
Set in the fictional town of Easttown, the show is about a murder investigation that ruins the lives of everyone involved. Kate Winslet steals the show every time she’s on-screen. It actually makes you wonder just how great an actor she has been for all these years.
3. Watchmen
Watchmen is an important show, especially in light of police brutality and institutional racism keeps popping up like a weed all over the world. The show is a unique take on the graphic novel but let’s just be very clear here. It does the novel way justice way better than Snyder’s version ever did. Regina King is terrifyingly good as the main protagonist and you should watch the show just for her.
4. When They See Us
This series is based on the real-world events that occurred in 1989, when a jogger was raped and 5 innocent young kids of colour were sent to prison, despite the lack of evidence and how the media, including the former President of the USA, Donald Trump, called for their heads. The shows portrays the lived reality of the Central Perk 5 as they suffer the consequences of racial profiling. The 5 eventually get exonerated in 2002 after spending years in prison.
5. Tiger King
This documentary series revolves around the lives and misadventures of big cat breeders, and rivalries that not only leads to the death of many, many tigers and lions and such but also, murder conspiracies and deaths of actual people. It’s actually quite entertaining if you don’t get bummed out by the dead tigers.
6. I May Destroy You
TW: Sexual Assault
Arabella’s life changes completely after she’s assaulted at a nightclub. Following the events of this night, she is forced to look at everything in her life differently and figure out where to go from here. It’s dark and deeply upsetting but the show is wonderfully written and does justice to the subject matter, rather than use it to sensationalise.
7. I Know This Much Is True
The only thing better than Mark Ruffalo is another Mark Ruffalo. That was lame but it’s true. And this show is proof of that. Ruffalo plays twin brothers, Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in this story of love, heartbreak and betrayal. This is drama at its best.
8. The Queen’s Gambit
The show is set during the height of the Cold War and is focused on chess prodigy Beth Harmon, who struggles with substance abuse on her way to becoming the greatest chess player in the world. Anya Taylor-Joy is a delight to watch as she seamlessly moves through scenes like water around rocks.
9. The Outsider
Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel of the same name, the show starts as a simple open and shit investigation. But as the story progresses, it leads to the brutal murder of a young boy at the hands of a cop. But the horror truly begins when a supernatural presence forces itself into the case.
10. Unbelievable
TW: Rape, Sexual Assault
A teenager goes to the police to report her rape but then recants her statement under the incredible stress and trauma she’s going through. Meanwhile, two cops are also investigating another rape case, when they realise that the suspect they are looking for is a serial rapist. The show is dark and will make you feel angry and helpless. That said, it does have a bittersweet ending.
So, you have got commitment issues with TV shows, huh?