Summary

• HBO's miniseries are mandatory viewing for TV fans, with blockbuster hits like Game of Thrones and The Last of Us setting the standard.
• Short-form TV allows movie stars to shine on HBO, like Al Pacino in Angels in America and Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown.
• Historical dramas like The Pacific and John Adams bring real events to life, with band of Brothers recognized as one of TV's best miniseries ever.

No television network has perfected the miniseries like HBO, with many of their releases so great that they should be considered mandatory viewing for TV fans. HBO has been known for its prestige quality television for decades, with series like The Sopranos, Succession, and The Wire standing out as some of the best TV shows ever made. The network has distinguished itself with consistently excellent shows, managing to develop series that are both Award caliber and culturally appealing, with blockbuster shows like The Last of Us and Game of Thrones.

HBO is an integral piece of the ongoing golden age of television, in which the medium has transformed into a valid form of artistry and visual storytelling on par with the esteem of film. The miniseries is a vital factor in this development, as short-form television allows movie-star actors to work on TV without committing to multi-year situations. Many of HBO's miniseries have starred movie actors, like Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, who appeared in Angels in America, or Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown.

12 The Young Pope (2016)

Jude Law Stars As The Unconventional Pope Pius XIII

One of HBO's many historical dramas, The Young Pope, stars Jude Law as Lenny Belardo, the man who became the first American Pope, Pius XIII. The series examines the dynamics of the Vatican in-depth, with themes of faith, power, and morality, making for a thought-provoking exploration into the life of the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Jude Law is fantastic, playing Pius XIII as an enigmatic, alluring figure, at once an egomaniac and also a petulant man-child. Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, it's a visually stunning, beautifully observed, and has a dreamlike quality. At the same time, The Young Pope was brave enough to tackle issues like sexual abuse within the Church system and abortion rights.

11 The Corner (2000)

The Wire Creator's First HBO Series.

Before The Wire, David Simon explored urban life in Baltimore in the miniseries The Corner. The show depicts the struggles of a family in a low-income neighborhood, offering a realistic view of urban life in drug-ridden areas, told in a comionate manner that Simon's work is known for. The Corner is based on David Simon's book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood, and stars of The Wire cast like Clarke Peters and Lance Reddick.

10 Olive Kitteridge (2014)

s McDormand Leads An Incredible Cast In Award-Winning Miniseries

Starring an incredibly gifted cast of household names, HBO's 2014 miniseries Olive Kitteridge is one of the TV channel's most celebrated and award-winning miniseries of all time. Choosing to focus not on war or grand historical events, Olive Ketteridge is no less diverting, focusing on the relataionship between a teacher (s McDormand) and her husband (Richard Jenkins) over 25 years.

Adapting Elizabeth Strout's 2008 novel, it's an often intense portrayal of depression, bereavement, and the problematic dynamic between family . Just four episodes long, Olive Ketteridge feels more like four separate movies, each telling a chapter across the 25 year timeline. And while McDormand shines brightest, ing performances by the likes of Bill Murray, Cory Michael Smith, and Rosemarie DeWitt make for a rich experience overall.

9 The Pacific (2010)

The Perfect Follow-up To Band Of Brothers.

A companion series to HBO's Band of Brothers, The Pacific is another phenomenal war drama following the experiences of U.S. Marines in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It's essential viewing for lovers of Band of Brothers, bringing the same intense realism and powerful narratives as the original series. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg produced the show, with Hanks also as the narrator.

8 Angels In America (2003)

One Of The Best TV Casts Ever Assemble For High Drama

Twenty years after its release, Angels in America still has one of the most talented TV casts ever assembled, headlined by Meryl Streep and Al Pacino. Emma Thompson, Patrick Wilson, and Jeffrey Wright are also fantastic in the series. It's a forgotten HBO show that's absolutely worth re-watching today, which examined the AIDS epidemic with sensitivity, profundity, and some of the most impressive performances ever on television. Angels in America was ahead of its time in bringing movie actors to the small screen and still holds up today as one of the network's best.

7 John Adams (2008)

US History Brought To Life By Paul Giamatti

Starring Paul Giamatti in the titular role, John Adams covers the life of the Founding Father through fifty years of his life from 1770 to 1826. The HBO miniseries is known for its stellar performances, also starring Laura Linney and Stephen Dillane, with actors like Justin Theroux, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Rufus Sewell, and more appearing as significant historical figures. The series is praised for its historical accuracy, truly bringing history to life for television fans. It's an experience that manages to be educational and highly entertaining.

6 Generation Kill (2008)

A Dramatic Portrayal Of The Iraq War.

HBO has some fantastic war drama miniseries, with Generation Kill offering a glimpse into the Iraq War. The plot is set in 2003, following the US Marine Corps' First Reconnaissance Battalion, based on the book by Evan Wright and adapted for television by The Wire creator David Simon. Generation Kill is known for its authenticity in depicting the early days of the war, telling an unfiltered story of the chaos of modern warfare. Like many HBO miniseries, it's filled with great writing and performances, with Alexander Skarsgård in the leading role.

5 Watchmen (2019)

An Excellent Sequel To The Seminal Comic Book Event

Watchmen is one of the greatest comic book stories ever written, making HBO the only network reliable enough to do it justice on screen. The series serves as a sequel to the comic (not the Zack Snyder film), picking up decades after the giant squid attack on New York. It combines thematic exploration from Alan Moore's original series with modern social themes about police brutality and race. For comic fans and TV lovers alike, Watchmen is a must-watch as an edgy superhero show that breaks the mold, subverting the genre's norms.

4 The Night Of (2016)

A rare example of HBO remaking another show - in this case the BBC's Criminal Justice - The Night Of is a spell-binding, and often terrifying look into the criminal justice system from the claustrophobia of its interior. Led by Riz Ahmed - who rightly gained critical acclaim for his portrayal of Naz - the cast is uniformly excellent, but both John Turturro and Bill Camp stand out massively. The other star is the tense atmosphere, as the audience watches an innocent man chewed up by the court and prison system after he wakes up beside a dead woman he didn't kill.

The intoxicating power of The Night Of comes in its mischievous manipulation of perception: Naz's drug use clouds reality and the case against him is so firm that even he begins to doubt his innocence. And there's also a morbid commentary on how prison makes people worse, as Naz falls into drug use and the kidn of associates he simply wouldn't have made on the outside.

3 Mare Of Easttown (2021)

Kate Winslet Stars In A Thrilling Mystery Drama.

Bringing an Academy Award winner on board to lead a miniseries is always promising, as the extended screen time allows them to showcase their talents in a way films can't. Kate Winslet is unbelievable in Mare of Easttown, earning her a second Emmy Award as police investigator Mare Sheehan. Evan Peters and Cailee Spaeny are also fantastic in ing roles. The show offers a gripping mystery and expertly drawn characters, with the backbone of family drama and small-town life complimenting the central crime.