TV shows with dozens of seasons and hundreds of episodes can take months to binge, but a shorter show likeFleabagorChernobylcan be knocked out in a long weekend. It’s almost impossible to find the time to watch 11 seasons ofThe Walking Deador 21 seasons ofGrey’s Anatomy, but most shows don’t run for that long.
Aminiseries likeBand of Brotherswill air 10 episodes that tell the whole story from beginning to end. A British sitcom likeThe Officewill typically go for 12 episodes across two seasons, sometimes concluding with a Christmas special.Shows that were canceled too soon, likeFireflyandFreaks and Geeks, didn’t have a chance to go stale.
Freaks and Geekswas canceled after one seasonof 18 episodes, butit just might be the greatest high school show ever made. It captures the relatable foibles and insecurities of adolescence much more accurately than any of the mediocre teen dramas that stayed on the air for years and years.
Despite being a one-season wonder,Freaks and Geekslaunched an astounding number of stars’ careers: Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, Busy Philipps, James Franco — the list goes on. This series originated Judd Apatow and Paul Feig’s heartfelt style of comedic storytelling. There are plenty of laughs, but they all come organically from characters who feel real and human.
Since Fox made the baffling decision toairFirefly’s episodes out of order, it didn’t attract enough viewers to score a second season. But in the years since, it has endured as a TV classic. The series reimagines all the tropes of the western genre — gunslingers, train robberies, brave pioneers forging ahead on the frontier — into a futuristic, intergalactic setting.
The series reimagines all the tropes of the western genre — gunslingers, train robberies, brave pioneers forging ahead on the frontier — into a futuristic, intergalactic setting.
The show’s ensemble cast, led by Nathan Fillion, is full of lovable, eccentric characters. It’s a dazzling spacebound spectacle, but it’s alsoa poignant commentary on humanity’s persistent moral divisions.Fireflyonly produced 14 episodes, and it was canceled after only 11 of them had hit the airwaves, so it’s a breezy watch that’ll leave you wanting more.
Richard Gadd became a household name overnight when his Netflix seriesBaby Reindeerwas universally praised by critics and found an audience around the world.Baby Reindeertells the semi-autobiographical storyof an up-and-coming comedian, played by Gadd, who unwittingly attracts the attention of a stalker when he’s nice to a lonely woman who frequents the pub where he works.
Baby Reindeerwon six Emmys, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Across seven episodes,Baby Reindeerexamines all the complexities of its lead character’s trauma. It’sa raw, honest depiction of the horrors of abuseand all the emotions surrounding it.Baby Reindeerisn’t an easy watch, but it is an important story to understand the mindset of someone who’s been abused and the difficulty of breaking out of that cycle.
Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’sPen15is a coming-of-age show like no other. It’sa masterpiece of cringe comedythat captures the adolescent terror of middle school in a way that’s excruciating, thoughtful, and deeply relatable. But what makes it truly unique is that Erskine and Konkle, in their early 30s, play their 13-year-old selves surrounded by child actors.
What makes it truly unique is that Erskine and Konkle, in their early 30s, play their 13-year-old selves surrounded by child actors.
Pen15has a ton of laughs, but it’s also a contemplative look at real issues that teenagers deal with, like absent parents and bullying. The conceit of adults playing kids never gets in the way of the poignancy. The series only has 25 episodes across two seasons, so you could easily knock it out in a weekend.
Big Little Lieshas one of the most star-studded casts on TV — Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Adam Scott, Zoë Kravitz, Alexander Skarsgård, Shailene Woodley — and it’s a rare case where the material is worthy of their talents.Liane Moriarty’s novel was tailor-made for television, and it was adapted perfectly into a seven-episode miniseries.
A third season ofBig Little Liesis in development.
That miniseries proved to be so successful that HBO decided to keep the story going into a second season. Season 2 explores the aftermath of season 1 and brings in the biggest star of all, none other than Meryl Streep, to give a disturbing turn as the mother of a monster who’s in complete denial about her son’s true nature.
Before he chronicled a fictional apocalypse inThe Last of Us, Craig Mazin made his HBO debut with a dramatization of a real-life apocalyptic event.Chernobyldepicts the titular nuclear disaster, from the initial explosion to the devastating aftermath to the frustrating search for the truth as the government attempted to cover it up.
It fictionalizes some of the narrative elements, butthe filmmakers paid meticulous attention to detail in bringing this period of Soviet history to life.Chernobylis not for the faint-hearted, but this five-part miniseries is a TV masterpiece.
By the time Phoebe Waller-Bridge adapted her one-woman showFleabagfor the small screen, she’d developed this character into a three-dimensional portrait of rage and pessimism.Fleabagis a raw, warts-and-all look at life as a young woman in the modern world, through the eyes of this cynical, darkly hilarious character.
In true British TV comedy style,Fleabagwrapped up its run after two seasons of six episodes each. But that was all it needed to earn a reputation as a hall-of-fame show with pitch-perfect writing, anchored by one ofthe greatest sitcom performances of all time.
Netflix’s chilling miniseriesAdolescencecould be viewed in its entirety in one sitting (if you’re sitting in a comfy chair). The entire show consists of four hour-long episodes, and each episode is its own distinctive chapter. Every episode is filmed in one continuous take and plays out in real time, so it’s much more immersive than the average TV show.
Every episode is filmed in one continuous take and plays out in real time, so it’s much more immersive than the average TV show.
In the first few minutes, a seemingly harmless 12-year-old boy is arrested on suspicion of murder. From that moment on, you’re hooked. The show explores poignant themes like the psychological impact of youth detention centers, the influence of toxic social media on impressionable kids, and the culpability of those kids’ parents.The acting is phenomenalacross the board.
After working onSaving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks reunited to executive-produce another World War II story.Band of Brothersis one of the greatest miniseries ever made; itplays like a 10-hour war movie. It’s just as gritty and visceral and cinematic asSaving Private Ryan, but it has a lot longer to dig into its characters.
It’s just as gritty and visceral and cinematic as Saving Private Ryan, but it has a lot longer to dig into its characters.
Band of Brothers’ dramatization of the history of Easy Company has plenty of spectacular battle scenes, but it also sinks its teeth into the psychological toll of that warfare. It doesn’t have a single bad episode, andBand of Brothers’ best episodesrank among the all-time greats.
Although its American remake would run for more than 200 episodes,the original British version ofThe Officecan be finished in a couple of days. It consists of two seasons of six half-hour episodes and concludes with a feature-length two-part Christmas special. But in that short space of time,it’s an emotional rollercoaster switching between heartwarming and heartbreaking.
The Officecaptures the everyday mundanity of a boring workplace, and unearths the beautiful human moments buried within that mundanity. It’s one of the funniest shows ever made, but the underlying tragedy of David Brent and the will-they-or-won’t-they love story of Tim and Dawn will hit you in the feels.
