The problem with streaming is thatshows can get cancelled out of nowhere. Shows likeMindhunter,The OA,The Society,I Am Not Okay With This, andHannibalwere all cancelled before they could finish their stories. That’s why miniseries are so satisfying. Theytell a full story in just a handful of episodes. No waiting for a new season. No risk of getting ghosted by the platform. But even miniseries can go off the rails. Many of them start strong but completely fall apart by the end.
HBO’sThe Outsiderpulled viewers in with a killer mystery, only to fumble it with a random supernatural twist that didn’t fit the tone. Netflix’sClickbaitbuilt up a murder mystery for eight episodes and then revealed the killer was someone you didn’t even meet until the final episode. What’s the point of guessing if the answer comes out of nowhere? Agreat miniseriesshould keep you guessing, build tension, and then stick the landing. So, here are 10 miniseries that actually pull it off. Each onestarts strong, stays strong, and ends on a high note.
10’Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber' (2022)
Created by Brian Koppelman and David Levien
Super Pumpedtells the real-life story ofTravis Kalanick, played to perfection byJoseph Gordon-Levitt, who also narrates the events. It’s abouthow he turned Uber into a global tech giantand completely bulldozed the entire cab industry in the process. It also dives deep into the Silicon Valley mindset, where ambition often outweighs ethics. You get to see how Uber played the game, bending the rules when it had to, clashing with tech giants like Google and Apple, anddoing whatever it took to stay on top.
The show ispacked with energy. It moves fast, the dialogue issharp and witty, and it’s extremely funny. The best way to describe it isThe Wolf of Wall StreetmeetsThe Social Network. And the show retains that fun energy from the very first scene all the way to the final episode.
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber
9’Presumed Innocent' (2024)
Created by David E. Kelley
Presumed Innocentis acourtroom drama starringJake Gyllenhaal. He plays Rusty Sabich, a respected prosecutor who’sinvestigating the murder of a colleague, until he suddenly becomes the prime suspect himself. As the case goes on, things start to get messy. Secrets come out about the justice system, about Rusty’s personal life, and about how far people will go to protect themselves.
What makes this show so good is theparanoid atmosphereit builds. You can’t even trust your own protagonist. The show keeps you guessing the entire way through. Did he actually do it or not? And just when you think you’ve figured it out, a new twist comes in and flips the whole thing on its head. And best of all,it sticks the landing. Thefinal reveal is satisfyingand wraps everything up perfectly.
Presumed Innocent
8’Midnight Mass' (2021)
Created by Mike Flanagan
Midnight Massis aslow-burn horror storyset on a small, isolated island where everyone knows each other. Life is quiet untila new priest arrives in town and strange miracles start happening. But what seems like a blessing slowly turns into a nightmare.
This isMike Flanagan’s most thought-provoking work yet.Midnight Massfeels like something straight out of aStephen Kingnovel but made for today’s world. It blendsdeep themes like religion, grief, addiction, guilt, and death into a story that hits hard on bothemotional and supernatural levels. The long, philosophical monologues about faith and life are genuinely fascinating, the performances are top-notch, andwhen the horror kicks in, it’s truly terrifying.
Midnight Mass
7’Baby Reindeer' (2024)
Created by Richard Gadd
Baby Reindeeris a black comedy drama about astruggling comedian and bartender who becomes the target ofan obsessive stalker. What makes it even more powerful is that the story isbased on real events from the life of Richard Gadd, who not only wrote the series but also stars as himself. That raw, personal connection brings an authenticity to the screen that very few shows ever manage to achieve.
It’s an unflinching and deeply honest look attrauma, loneliness, and the messiness of human nature. And Gadd doesn’t just focus on the stalker; he turns the focus inward too, digging into his own psyche and emotional ambiguities. As the episodes go on, things get more intense and uncomfortable, but you just can’t look away. The show has been praised across the board and holds anear-perfect 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Baby Reindeer
6’Dopesick' (2021)
Created by Danny Strong
Dopesicktells the story of howOxyContin was sold to America as a miracle painkiller. Purdue Pharma marketed it to doctors as safe and non-addictive, using aggressive and misleading advertising to get it into hospitals and clinics across the country.But in reality,it was highly addictive and ended upfueling the opioid crisis. The series shows how this drug destroyed lives and tore apart entire communities, all while the people behind it made billions.
The series followsmultiple storylines over several years, and at the center of it isMichael Keaton. He plays a small-town doctor who buys into the promise of OxyContin, only to slowly realize the harm it’s causing his patients. Keaton’s performance is phenomenal, full of quiet heartbreak and frustration, and he evenearned an Emmyfor it.
5’The Haunting of Hill House' (2018)
The Haunting of Hill Houseis a Netflixhorror show centered around the Crain family, who once lived in a haunted house. The story jumps between their childhood and adult lives, showing how the trauma they went through as kids still affects them years later. From the very first episode, the series hooks you in. Itscares you, breaks your heart, and by the end, hits you with an emotional gut punchthat makes you want to watch it all over again, just to catch the details you missed.
And it’s not just a great story. There are so many creative touches that make this one stand out. The showhidesghosts in the background of sceneswithout ever pointing them out, and spotting one randomly is genuinely creepy. It also pushes filmmaking to a whole new level. One episode is done almost entirely in a single, long one-take shot that flows between time periods and characters. Add to thatan unforgettable score, and you’ve got a show that truly is a masterpiece from beginning to end.
The Haunting of Hill House
4’The Night Of' (2016)
Created by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price
The Night Ofis a legal drama that tells the story of Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed),a quiet college student who wakes up after a night of partying to find a woman murdered next to him. He’s arrested almost immediately, and from there, the series follows his entire journey through the justice system. Ittakes you from the police station to the jail cell to the courtroom, and shows the emotional and mental toll it takes on him and his family.
Ahmed andJohn Turturrogive incredible performances, withAhmed winning an Emmy for his role. But what really sets this series apart is how real it feels. It shows how a single night can completely change someone’s life, and it truly feels like a nightmare that could happen to anyone.The supporting charactersare well-developed; each one has their own intricate backstory, cultural nuances, and personal struggles. And the reason it lands on this list is the ending. Thejury’s final verdict is something rarely seen in movies or shows, and it’s handled in a way that feels real and honest.
The Night Of
3’When They See Us' (2019)
Created by Ava DuVernay
When They See Usis a Netflix limited series thattells the true story of the Central Park Five. These were fiveBlack and Latino teenagerswho were wrongly accused of a brutal assault in New York City back in 1989. The show is told in four parts,covering their arrest, the trial, their time in prison, and finally, their exoneration.
This is a show that will break your heart. It will make you squirm. And most of all,it will make you angry. It shows just how broken the justice system can be, and how racial profiling destroyed the lives of these innocent boys. The storytelling is strong from the beginning, but the final episode focused onKorey Wise’s (Jharrel Jerome) solitary confinement is widely seen asone of the most emotional anddevastating hours of televisionever made.
When They See Us
2’Adolescence' (2025)
Created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne
Adolescenceis a Netflix crime drama starringOwen Cooperin his debut roleas Jamie Miller,a 13-year-old who gets arrested for the murder of his classmate. Even though this is Cooper’s first time acting, he absolutely commands the screen alongside veteran actors likeStephen Grahamanddelivers a performance that’s genuinely terrifying. The story is disturbingly dark and tackles some heavy, uncomfortable topics, but it’s told so well that you just can’t look away.
What elevates this series a notch above the rest is the cinematography. Each episode is filmed asone continuous takewith no cuts, which makes everything feel way more real, like you’re right there inside the scene. It creates this eerie feeling like you’re watching something you shouldn’t be. With the standout performances, sharp writing, and stunning camera work, it’s no surprise the series holds an impressive98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Adolescence
1’Chernobyl' (2019)
Created by Craig Mazin
Topping the list isChernobyl, HBO’s haunting retelling of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The series covers the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant, the immediate chaos that followed, the horrifying cost in human lives, and the Soviet government’s desperate attempts to cover it all up. There are no jump scares or monsters here, but it’s stillone of the scariest things you’ll ever watch. It’s so well done that it has a 9.3 rating on IMDb, making it the5thhighest-rated show of all time.
The show doesn’t try to glamorize heroism or paint every authority figure as evil. It simply lays bare how politics and fear of punishment allowed an easily avoidable disaster to spiral out of control. And theending of the series is just as impactful as the opening explosion. The final episode features a long courtroom scene whereJared Harris’ character explains how the disaster happened in layman’s terms, and it’s some of thebest writing ever put on TV. The whole show isintense, thought-provoking, and genuinely terrifyingfrom start to finish.
