The 10 Best HBO Miniseries, Ranked

HBO has long been a cornerstone of consistently compelling and well-made programming, whether it's movies, documentaries, TV shows, or, perhaps the best of both worlds, a miniseries. The premium network is well known for their particularly impressive roster of miniseries since its inception in 1972, and they've continued to up the ante with what they've produced even in just the last five years. In fact, it seems like every year there's at least one major miniseries achievement for the channel. 

There have been so many excellent series over time that it actually seems quite daunting to choose only 10 in a list of the best HBO miniseries, but honestly, if we didn't, this list would just end up encompassing quite literally most of the HBO miniseries catalog. Plus, it can at times feel impossible to put them in a definitive order because they're all so good, but someone's gotta do it. 

Here are the 10 best HBO miniseries, ranked.

Tom Hooper's 2008 series has a reputation that precedes it. "John Adams," a show about the titular character's political life and role in the founding of the United States, won a grand total of 13 Emmy awards and another four Golden Globes, taking the lead for most awarded miniseries in history. It's critically acclaimed and beloved by audiences, especially at the time of release. But at its core, Hooper's series was anchored by a sharp and layered eye (one that would go on to give us in "Les Miserables" and "The King's Speech") that lent itself to compelling directorial decisions and a standout performance by fearless actor Paul Giamatti (who recently gave us his all in "The Holdovers"). 

Plus, the series has really strong source material that helped bring Kirk Ellis' vision to life: David McCullough's biography of the same title published in 2001. All of this made for some seriously enthralling historical fiction that still to this day feels stronger, both on a story level and on the whole, than so much of the streaming slop these days.

Before "John Adams," there was "Band of Brothers." The 2001 miniseries was created by two utter powerhouses (none other than Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) and based on Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 nonfiction book of the same title. Both the book and the miniseries chronicle the same thing: the history of the "Easy" Company, which is the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army as they served in World War II. 

There's nothing quite like growing and shifting with a set of characters who are put in extraordinary circumstances, and the journey with this band of brothers, literally, is what makes this series so effective. Aside from a killer audience reception when this dropped, the critics were just as taken with the emotional gut punch of a series that is full of brutal moments — not to mention the visceral battles that didn't feel fake. This is definitely one to revisit, if for nothing else but to remember the value of community and kinship — something the world desperately needs right now.

HBO's 2021 crime drama "Mare of Easttown" might be the best example of a Philadelphian accent heard round the world. Sure, that's a bit of a joke, but the series was a complete hit when it premiered with legendary actress Kate Winslet at the helm. The story, which follows Winslet's Mare Sheehan, a detective investigating the death of a local teenage mother at the same time that her own life is starting to crumble, shines a light on small town people living modest, sometimes difficult lives full of complicated choices. Not only does the show nail that from tonal and performance perspectives, but it does have some of the best Philly accents you've ever heard on mainstream television. 

Craig Zobel, who is perhaps best known for directing 2012's "Compliance," took the helm on this series with such reverence for writer Brad Ingelsby's work. It's there in every lingering shot on Winslet's face as we decipher her emotions in her powerhouse performance as much as it is in the pulse-quickening climax of the series' central mystery. "Mare of Easttown" went on to receive 16 primetime Emmy nominations and won four of those awards, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Winslet. It's not hard to see why.

As far as comic book adaptations go, 2019's "Watchmen" kind of broke the mold. Creator Damon Lindelof (one of the brilliant or insane, depending on who you ask, minds who brought us "Lost") considers the adaptation something of a "remix" of the source material — and that's a major part of what makes this miniseries so strong. The story, which follows the aftermath of racist police violence in Oklahoma, takes place 34 years after the events of the graphic novel in an alternate universe, which allowed Lindelof to create new characters and events that fit within the original timeline. 

It's a pretty ingenious way to both adapt and reboot a story at the same time, and Lindelof and his writing team do an impeccable job of making the world of "Watchmen" exciting for diehards and palatable for newbies. But ultimately, it's one of those shows that truly has everything: top-notch direction, compelling writing, bold and complex performances, and a story that is unafraid to dig deep on the things that matter and using the fantastical and otherworldly as an asset to do so.

If you're anything like me, you're a Riz Ahmed fan, so if you haven't seen HBO's 2016 crime drama "The Night Of," you better get on that. Ahmed stars as Naz Khan, a Palestinian-American college student who is accused of murdering a woman in New York City. The show follows Khan's journey through the legal system and his experience in incarceration at Rikers Island, a well-known detention center with a deeply troubling reputation. 

Needless to say, the grit of the series, and the depth of it that it's willing to show, is central to making this miniseries such a standout. Ahmed's performance is one of quiet determination and seemingly insurmountable strength, and his leading turn anchors the story as something that feels deeply human because of all the terrible things his character's pure heart exists alongside. A true feat of performance and direction, the series was nominated for 14 Emmys and ended up winning five, including Outstanding Lead Actor for Ahmed.

Prescient and truly profound, Russel T. Davies' dystopian sci-fi drama "Years and Years" feels now like a stunning, startling snapshot of the future, our future. The show follows one normal British family as they navigate life in a society that gradually is ripped further and further apart. The inciting incident? The election of a populist who will stop at nothing to enact an agenda built to divide and dissolve public trust. 

The character, who is played with equal amounts of cunning and charm by Emma Thompson, is a perfect example of the kind of veiled threats to democracy and free thinking that we are faced with around every corner in the modern era. This series is quick and dirty but impeccably acted with enough emotional resonance to lay you out for a week straight easily, and you really will not be able to handle the ending, so make sure you have those tissues ready from the start.

There's simply no denying that Todd Haynes' 2011 version of "Mildred Pierce" gives the impeccable original a real run for its money. The 1945 film starred the legendary Joan Crawford in the title role, but Kate Winslet does just as sensational a job playing a hard-working mother who tries her hand at starting a restaurant business in an effort to win the cold and calculated affections of her cruel elder daughter. 

Evan Rachel Wood takes on the role of Veda, Pierce's vicious daughter, and needless to say she knocks the whole thing clear out of the park. In a way, it felt like the role she was born to play, based on everything she'd done (and excelled in) up until that point. One could argue Winslet's casting felt the same, and great casting can give way to something really special, especially when there's a top-notch director and a stone-cold classic story on the docket as well. This story gets to the heart of the harsh realities of love and it's hard not to see how everyone involved in this version really came together to make it as memorable and powerful as it is.

Onstage or on screen, there is truly nothing like Tony Kushner's "Angels in America." The insightful and touching story first premiered on Broadway in 1993 and was adapted for HBO by the playwright a decade later with the late, great director Mike Nichols at the helm. The play follows the lives of six New Yorkers at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1985, with a man named Prior Walter, a sick gay man who has been visited by an angel, at the core. Nichols' version of the celebrated drama — which has many times been called one of the greatest plays of all time — taps into the realism of the story, which despite its fantastical trappings does exist in the harsh truth of our world. 

But at the same time, it also manages to dive headfirst into the beautiful mysticism of what Kusher hopes to impart on his audience: that life is precious and we must continue to move forward within it, for ourselves and for those that have left us behind for something unknowable. Nichols' version of the play is a necessary adaptation that not only perfectly encapsulates Kusher's mighty vision but brought that crucial vision — and the just world it pictures for all of us — to a much wider audience who, arguably, needs it.

You simply never forget your first watch of "I May Destroy You." Michaela Coel's mainstream breakout series, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, is a sucker punch to the jaw so breathtaking it's bound to knock you out. It put Coel on the map in a major way, and looking back, it seems like it was always destined to make her a star (something she, frankly, already was with her hilarious E4 series "Chewing Gum" in the UK). 

The show follows a bubbly and brilliant English writer named Arabella (Coel), who wakes up after a wild night out with no memory of what occurred and has to put the sobering pieces together with the help of her two best friends. It's tragic and tumultuous and, most of all, true to the messiness of life and experience. The show is unapologetic and bold, something that feels so intrinsic to Coel's core as a writer and person, and because it is unafraid to be raw, it is able to grab its audience firmly by the heart.

It seems like it would be damn near impossible to truly capture the full scale of the immense terror brought on by the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. But somehow, Craig Mazin's 2019 miniseries "Chernobyl" was able to do just that. The series, which follows the disaster and the aftermath from the points of view of several different Russians from civilians to engineers to scientists to government workers, is able to truly hone in on how utterly horrifying this tragedy was, particularly when you zone in on its ravaging effect on human life. 

Keeping this lens in the forefront, Mazin and director Johan Renck build a tragic and touching tale that puts a harsh spotlight on pride and ego in a way that feels so tapped into the commonalities of the human experience. "Chernobyl" is shocking and scary, sure, but it is also deeply human, and that combination packs quite the emotional punch. The show ended up being 2019's most vital, terrifying, and relevant horror story, but like the real-life disaster itself, it will endure.