10 Must-Watch Netflix Miniseries, Ranked
Marcel is a writer who is passionate about most movies and series. He will watch anything that's good. He is a content manager by day and a videographer when needed. Marcel used to work at a major streaming service based in Asia Pacific as a Content Specialist and was the Distribution Manager for a local movie distribution company.
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Limited series have become streaming series' bread and butter. It offers long-form storytelling without the commitment of having more than one season. As arguably the biggest platform, Netflix has bragging rights for being home to loads of gripping streaming series, from true stories to supernatural horror.
The best part of Netflix' vast library is that there is something for practically every kind of viewer. Some of these must-watch miniseries are tense and disturbing, others are emotional and character-driven, while others use real events to explore fascinating people and moments in history. Whether you're looking for a series that is genuinely worth your time or even a series you can finish over a weekend, these Netflix miniseries are must-watches.
10 'Inventing Anna' (2022)
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Inventing Anna follows Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), a young woman who presents herself as a wealthy German heiress while moving through New York's elite social and business circles. She convinced so many people that she has an enormous financial resource, so that she can gain access to a lifestyle that she could not actually afford, until everything starts crumbling down on herself.
Inventing Anna is based on a real crime story that is so sensational that it just had to be adapted into a film or a series. Netflix has an abundance of this kind of content but Inventing Anna remains one of the best in the pack. Rather than portraying her simply as a criminal mastermind, the series explores a culture obsessed with wealth, status, exclusivity, and social media visibility, where appearing successful can sometimes be almost as valuable as actually being successful. After her incredible run in Ozark, Julia Garner's performance captures Anna's calculating and constructed persona perfectly. The series also became an online sensation for how engrossing it is.
9 'The Last Dance' (2020)
The Last Dance chronicles Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' final championship season of the 1990s while also looking back at the team's transformation into one of the most successful and recognizable sports dynasties in history. The documentary follows the Bulls throughout their 1997–98 season, when Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and the rest of the team were pursuing another NBA championship amid uncertainty about whether the team would remain together afterward.
Netflix has lots of sports documentaries from all kinds of sports in its library, from the popular F1: Drive to Survive to numerous documentaries on notable athletes like David Beckham and Rafael Nadal. Produced alongside ESPN Films, The Last Dance is entirely in a class of its own. While it centers on Michael Jordan, it also gives significant attention to the rest of the team, showing the personalities, conflicts, ambitions, and enormous expectations behind them. The extensive archival footage is impressive as it puts viewers directly alongside the team. Jason Hehir's documentary is very much accessible for those with little interest in basketball.
8 'Ripley' (2024)
Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, Ripley follows Tom (Andrew Scott), a struggling grifter who receives an unusual opportunity when a wealthy businessman hires him to travel to Italy and persuade his estranged son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), to return home. Tom soon becomes fascinated by Dickie's privileged lifestyle and beautiful surroundings. Slowly he realizes that he might be able to have a life like Dickie's.
The Matt Damon and Jude Law-starring film is a classic favorite, and remaking the story seemed risky. But Ripley is able to stand on its own by taking the material seriously as both a character study and a piece of visual filmmaking. Series creator Steven Zaillian directs all eight episodes, and it has a distinct visual style thanks to its black-and-white cinematography and Italian locations. The series' deliberate pacing gives room for audiences to connect with Ripley and understand him. Andrew Scott brings a strong, layered performance, supported by great performances from Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning as well. It's undoubtedly one of the best adaptations of the book series.
7 'Midnight Mass' (2021)
Midnight Mass centers on a small community on an isolated island, struggling with division and decline. A charismatic young priest named Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) arrives to take over the local church, performing miracles that energize the community's spirituality. But some residents begin questioning what is really happening.
Mike Flanagan only makes bangers for Netflix, and one of his most acclaimed series is this religious, psychological thriller. He uses questions about faith, redemption, and human weakness as the foundation for the entire story. The result is a series where conversations about religion can be just as important as its more traditional horror elements. Hamish Linklater's performance as Father Paul is captivating and also creepy at the same time. The series also has a strong supporting cast that includes Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli and Kate Siegel. It's one of the best horror series in recent memory.
6 'Maid' (2021)
Maid follows Alex (Margaret Qualley), a young mother who leaves an abusive relationship with her daughter, and finds herself trying to survive without a stable home and income. She takes a job cleaning houses through a maid service, moving between wealthy clients' homes while simultaneously dealing with her personal problems and trying to regain control over her life.
Inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir, Maid is a must-see for its grounded story and inspiring human drama. It takes an everyday struggle and gives it the dramatic weight it deserves without turning Alex into a passive victim. The series is particularly effective at showing how poverty can become a cycle. Her role as Alex is probably one of Qualley's best works to date. She also works alongside her mother Andie MacDowell, who plays Alex' mother. The combination of intimate character drama and social commentary makes Maid considerably more affecting than its simple title might suggest.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun
Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.
🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)
🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)
🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)
🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)
01
How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.
02
What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.
03
You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.
04
What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.
05
What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.
06
You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.
07
What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.
08
Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.
The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…
Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.
Dustin Henderson
You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.
- Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
- You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
- He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
- You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.
Emily Cooper
You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.
- Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
- You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
- She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
- She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.
Wednesday Addams
You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.
- Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
- You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
- Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
- Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.
Seong Gi-hun
You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.
- Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
- You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
- He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
- He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.
5 'Godless' (2017)
Godless follows Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell), an outlaw who turns against his former mentor, the ruthless Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), and now seeks refuge in the isolated town of La Belle. The town has been left almost entirely populated by women after a mining accident killed most of its men. With Griffin hot on Roy's trail, the women of La Belle realize that the town will become Griffin's next target.
Godless is one of Netflix' first limited series and it still holds up even almost ten years later. The large female ensemble, led by Merritt Weaver and Michelle Dockery, is simply amazing, and it brings a fresh air that separates it from many traditional Westerns. Playing against type, Jeff Daniels is particularly memorable as Frank Griffin. Series creator Scott Frank also gives the story plenty of room to develop its characters before the inevitable showdown, making sure the audience can connect with the characters to care about them. If you're looking for a series with memorable characters, striking cinematography, and a sense of epicness, Godless is a must-watch.
4 'Adolescence' (2025)
Adolescence follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), whose life and family are thrown into chaos when he is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl from his school. The series follows his father (Stephen Graham) and a couple of detectives who try to find the truth, as well as a psychologist who is brought in to understand Jamie's psyche.
Adolescence is a must-watch for how the story is uniquely presented. The series is just four episodes, but each of them have different perspectives. Most famously, the film adopts a continuous-shot approach to each of its episodes. While it can be a technical gimmick if employed haphazardly, in Adolescence, this approach heightens the drama and highlights the performances. It also puts the audiences in real-time as the characters. Owen Cooper's performance is simply incredible in this, and so does the supporting cast. The series has been winning all of the awards in its path.
3 'The Queen's Gambit' (2020)
The Queen's Gambit follows Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), an orphan who has an extraordinary talent for chess after being introduced to the game by a janitor at the orphanage where she grows up. Beth progresses from playing local tournaments to competing against some of the world's best players. Her ambition to become the world's greatest chess player drives her forward, but her personal problems repeatedly threaten to derail her career.
The Queen's Gambit was a worldwide phenomenon when it was released during the lockdown period in 2020. It brings massive attention to the world of chess thanks to how it turns chess into compelling television. Anchored by a great central performance by Anya Taylor-Joy, Beth's story is a tumultuous yet ultimately satisfying journey. Her struggles with addiction and relationships make her human, while her chess skills are depicted in a creative way. There is also something special about the chess matches, that it can feel like a battle sometimes, but also a playful back-and-forth between Beth and her friends. It's no wonder the series won Netflix its first Best Limited Series trophy at the Emmys.
2 'When They See Us' (2019)
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When They See Us chronicles the true story of the five Black and Latino teenagers known as the Central Park Five, who were arrested and prosecuted after a woman was assaulted and severely beaten in Central Park in 1989. The miniseries follows the teenagers from their initial interrogations and coerced confessions through their trials, imprisonment, and the years that followed. It focuses on the experiences of the young men and their families as they navigate a broken criminal justice system in America.
Based on a well-known legal case and directed by Ava DuVernay, the series puts the spotlight on the teenagers and their family, allowing the audience to see the emotional consequences of the prosecution, imprisonment, and public attention. The performances are particularly powerful, with the actors portraying the young men at different stages of their lives and showing how an event from adolescence can continue shaping adulthood. It is not a cozy or fun watch like most of the titles on this list, but it is an essential one. It is a powerful, emotional drama that shows the power of resilience in uncontrollable situations.
1 'The Haunting of Hill House' (2018)
The Haunting of Hill House follows the Crain family, who move into the Hill House mansion with the intention of renovating it and selling it. Their plans quickly fall apart as each member of the family experiences increasingly disturbing supernatural events inside the house. Years later, the Crain children have grown up and gone their separate ways, but the trauma of their childhood continues to shape their lives.
The Haunting of Hill House is not just a horror series. In fact, for most of its runtime, the ghosts are not front-and-center. Mostly they are hidden. The real appeal is the Crain family themselves, whose trauma and fears create the ghosts. Mike Flanagan carefully develops all the characters so that the audience understand them all. The carefully constructed timelines, and gradual revelations give the story a cinematic quality that is unusual for television horror. The series boasts its magnificent long-take episode when the hauntings take place in one night. The series is simultaneously a haunted-house story, a family drama and a reflection on grief, making it an exceptional miniseries to watch.
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