7 best miniseries with 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes to stream this weekend
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Looking for the best miniseries to watch this weekend? We can't blame you. Thanks to stories that sometimes take up as little as six episodes, miniseries and limited series shows are a great way to kill a weekend.
The only problem? There are now a lot of great miniseries on the best streaming services. Netflix, Max, Hulu, Peacock and more all have miniseries, limited series and anthology series shows that are highly rated.
To make things easy, we've created a list of the seven best miniseries to watch this weekend, all with a Tomatometer score of 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes. That's a high bar to clear, eliminating acclaimed shows like "Band of Brothers" and "Roots." But with options like "Chernobyl" and "Beef" making the cut, there's no question that every show on this list is worth watching.
Here are the seven best miniseries with 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes to stream this weekend, from Netflix, Max and more.
'Chernobyl' (Max)
"Chernobyl" is a five-part miniseries that dramatizes the events of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. This show isn't for the faint of heart. Chernobyl remains the largest nuclear disaster in history and creator Craig Mazin doesn't shy away from the devastation and heartbreak. Episode 4 — "The Happiness of All Mankind" — is particularly brutal.
"Chernobyl" is largely historically accurate, though its largely British cast makes no effort to be Russian or Ukranian. Personally, though, I wouldn’t change the cast for anything. Jared Harris as Valery Legasov and Stellan Skarsg?rd as Boris Shcherbina, are excellent and missing out on them would only diminish this incredible show.
Stream it now on Max
'Lonesome Dove' (Peacock)
Often, miniseries will dramatize real events — like in "Chernobyl" — or they'll adapt other works into the television show format. "Lonesome Dove" is the latter and it might be the best to ever do it, garnering 18 Emmy nominations and seven wins.
This 1989 miniseries is based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. It follows former Texas Ranger Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae (Robert Duvall), former Texas Ranger Captain Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones) and former Texas Ranger scout Joshua Deets (Danny Glover) as they drive a herd of cattle from Lonesome Dove, Texas to Montana. If you love shows like "Yellowstone," this miniseries is essential viewing.
Stream it now on Peacock
'Watchmen' (Max)
Not to be confused with the 2009 movie adaptation of Alan Moore's iconic DC Comics graphic novel, this HBO series is actually a sequel to the Moore comic. "Watchmen" is set 34 years after the events of the comic/movie in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This time, our main hero is Angela Abar (Regina King), who dons a mask as Sister Night and is secretly a member of the Tulsa Police Department. While the show initially centers around her mission to stop a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry, which uses the writings of Rorschach to justify launching a race war, it quickly expands beyond this localized plot. Vigilante billionaire Adrian Veight (Jeremy Irons) returns from the original graphic novel as Ozymandias, as does the god-like Doctor Manhattan and the former Silk Spectre Laurie Blake (Jean Smart). This HBO miniseries is a more than adequate successor to Alan Moore's original work, and far exceeds the movie adaptation in quality.
Stream it now on Max
'Fargo' season 1 (Hulu)
"Fargo" technically isn't a miniseries. Now in its fifth season, it's instead an anthology series, which means each season is distinctly different from the other, though there may be some connecting themes and motifs. But since the seasons each tell complete stories from start to finish, like with a miniseries, I decided it merited inclusion. Once you've watch the entire first season, you'll be glad I did.
"Fargo" season 1 stars Martin Freeman as mild-mannered Minnesotan insurance salesman Lester Nygaard. His life takes a turn when he meets hitman Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) at a hospital, who proceeds to murder Nygaard's bully (Kevin O'Grady) after Lester didn't explicitly tell Malvo not to. This murder then sets off a series of murders thanks to the arrival of Fargo mob hitmen Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) and Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg), forcing police officers Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) to investigate.
Fans of the original movie will love "Fargo" season 1 and its incredible cast, and it's perfect for a binge-watch this weekend.
Stream it now on Hulu
'Beef' season 1 (Netflix)
"Beef" is — now — another anthology series like "Fargo." It was initially a miniseries, including when it cleaned up at the Golden Globes and Emmys, but "Beef" has since been greenlit for a second season. But since that plot is disconnected from season 1, we're counting it as the miniseries it was intended to be.
"Beef" stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as Danny Cho and Amy Lau, two seemingly disparate individuals unexpectedly thrust together by a road rage incident. Based on a real-life incident from show creator Lee Sung Jin's life, this show manages to be fun, dark, stressful and addiciting all at once. It's a bit longer at 10 episodes, but once you start you'll binge the entire season.
Stream it now on Netflix
'Mare of Easttown' (Max)
"Mare of Easttown" stars Kate Winslet as Mare Sheehan, a local detective called upon to investigate the murder of a teen mom. However, this isn't the first murder of a young girl she's investigated, and the last time it happened the case went unsolved. That cold case still haunts her, and it forces Mare's boss (John Douglas Thompson) to bring in county detective Colin Zabel (Evan Peters), who recently solved a cold case nearby.
The performances of Winslet and Peters, and their chemistry, are incredible and both won Primetime Emmy Awards for their acting in this HBO miniseries. Winslet's pitch-perfect Delaware County accent in particular is just incredible acting. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the BBC series "Broadchurch." Those that are will find an instant connection with "Mare of Easttown."
Stream it now on Max
'Landscapers' (Max)
"Landscapers" stars Olivia Colman and David Thewlis as Susan and Christopher Edwards. In 1998, these two were accused of allegedly killing Susan's parents William and Patricia Wycherley but managed to evade Nottinghamshire Police for 15 years before a slip-up put them back on the cops' radar.
I'll be honest, you didn't need to tell me more about this true crime drama from HBO and Sky other than it stars Colman and Thewlis. Both are phenomenal actors, and I'll watch just about anything with either in the cast. But thankfully, this four-episode series is also brilliant, loaded with twists and turns. There's murder, intrigue and a rumored unlikely friendship with French actor Gérard Depardieu. Plus, director Will Sharpe puts together some incredible scenes that would feel at home on the big screen.
Stream it now on Max
