100 TV Mini-Series
A list of 100 TV mini-series that are worth while revisiting. Included are a few of the highest rated mini-series of recent years, but mostly near forgotten older ones. Some of them were truly excellent, some are guilty pleasures, some are interesting mostly because of the people who appear in them.
No documentaries. Only scripted and acted productions. For some reason a few are listed as TV series or TV film on the site, but they all are mini-series in as far as they deal with one subject or are based on one piece of literature, and that they were originally broadcast in several parts.
No documentaries. Only scripted and acted productions. For some reason a few are listed as TV series or TV film on the site, but they all are mini-series in as far as they deal with one subject or are based on one piece of literature, and that they were originally broadcast in several parts.
List activity
1.3K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
- 100 titles
- StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.Starring Sian Phillips (whose performance is stellar), a young John Hurt (in a hugely enjoyable and outrageous performance as Caligula), Patrick Stewart, Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi
- StarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA World War II German U-Boat crew have a terrifying patrol mission in the early days of the war.Basically the extended version of the film with the same title. In this case more is more. When purchasing for home viewing the mini-series is probably preferable to the cut film version.
- StarsMaximilian SchellVanessa RedgraveOmar SharifBiopic of Peter I, Czar of Russia, from childhood in 1682 to the Great Northern War against Sweden during the 1700s.Starring Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Ursula Andress.
Highly recommended because of very high production standards. Filmed largely on location in the Soviet Union, with many Russian actors and even members of the Russian army as extras in many scenes. When you see snowy expanses, they are real, and so are the buildings of the Kremlin and interiors of the churches. Scenens involving the Tatars were filmed in Soviet Central Asia (Bokhara?). - StarsTom HollanderToby StephensRupert Penry-JonesThe true story of a group of Cambridge University Students who are recruited to spy for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.
- StarsMyAnna BuringSam ClaflinLindsay DuncanA story about a group of seven London-based students from 1965 to the present day.
- StarsJim BroadbentMatthew MacfadyenConor NealonA novelist's life ricochets from 1920s Paris to '50s New York and '80s London. Along the way he meets Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - the exiled British king and his mistress Wallis Simpson.
- StarsAlec GuinnessMichael JaystonAnthony BateIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.Starring Alec Guinness. Excellent mini-series, in many ways preferable to the 2011 film of the same title.
- StarsAlec GuinnessEileen AtkinsBill PatersonThe murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.Starring Alec Guinness.
- StarsZelah ClarkeTimothy DaltonCarol GilliesA young governess falls in love with her mysterious employer, but a terrible secret puts their happiness at risk.
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.Starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. The acting is first class across the board. Hugely enjoyable series to watch.
- StarsJoanne WhalleyTimothy DaltonAnnabeth GishIn this long-awaited sequel to Gone With the Wind, Scarlett's flight from the scrutiny of Atlanta society takes her on a journey to Savannah, Charleston, England, and Ireland, where she discovers her family's roots.Starring Joanne Whalley, Timothy Dalton, Sean Bean, Colm Meaney, with a hugely enjoyable performance of Ann-Margret as Belle. Filmed largely on location in South Carolina and Ireland.
It is important to remember that this is not a remake of Gone with the Wind, but a sequel to the story. Great acting all round, with stunning locations and costumes to boot. - StarsTimothy DaltonTimothy WestDavid MorrisseyA cat-and-mouse game between a charismatic and manipulative criminal and his interrogator, played out over the four episodes of the miniseries.
- StarsRichard ChamberlainRachel WardChristopher PlummerIn the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love?Starring Richard Chamberlain, Christopher Plummer, Barbara Stanwyck in one of her late roles, Jean Simmons.
One of the iconic mini-series of the 80's, the Golden Age of TV mini-series. - StarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.Starring Richard Chamberlain, Michael Hordern, John Rhys-Davies along with a largely Japanese cast. Filmed largely in Japan.
- StarsDavid TennantRose ByrnePeter O'TooleAfter a life spent seeking pleasure and decadence, Casanova seeks his one true love, Henriette.
- StarsPeter O'ToolePeter StraussBarbara CarreraAfter the destruction of the Second Temple, nine hundred Jewish zealots hold out against a five thousand man Roman legion on the mountaintop fortress of Masada.
- StarsFrank GrimesDavid KellyDonal McCannFrom 1907 to 1914, the lives of numerous inhabitants of Dublin, still under British rule, impact on each other: the young wife of a factory worker, a country girl new to the big city, and her husband, a staunch supporter of the unions; the mighty union leader Jim Larkin; the older priest, who drinks more than is good for him, and his young curate; the delightful tramp Rashers Tierney and his dog Rusty, and several members of the Anglo-Irish gentry, some of them sympathetic to those dependent on them, others less so. The working-class struggle through the nightmare of the Dublin Lockout, when the Catholic Church sided with the industrialists to smash Irish labor's first substantive steps towards unionizing.
- StarsBeatie EdneyJane LapotaireTim WoodwardMaud Ruthyn, a lovely and sensitive girl, is sent to stay with her Uncle Silas Ruthyn, a charismatic rogue who stands to inherit the family fortune... should anything untoward happen to young Maud. With the tyrannical Madame De La Rougierre as her governess, Maud finds that the estate holds terrors beyond her imaginings.
- CreatorDouglas HeyesStarsKirstie AlleyGeorg Stanford BrownDavid CarradineTwo friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.
- StarsChristian KohlundJean-Pierre BouvierRoger CarelA young English navy lieutenant sets out to prove that the quickest way to reach India from London is by way of the Mediterranean and Suez rather than the long sea route around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, which takes six months. With his friend, French explorer and natural scientist Martial de Sassenage, Thomas Waghorn leaves London in October 1829 with the aim of reaching Bombay in India in three months. The owner of a shipping line fears for his company's future should the two adventurers succeed, so he sends his agents to delay them along their way.
- StarsRobert MitchumAli MacGrawJan-Michael VincentThe trials of the Henry and Jastrow families in the early years of World War II.
- StarsSam NeillMichael BryantNorman RodwayA dramatization of the missions and adventures of the greatest spy in British history.
- StarsSam NeillHelena Bonham CarterJohn GielgudLegendary wizard Merlin tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.
- StarsJoseph BottomsTovah FeldshuhRosemary HarrisThe saga of a Jewish family's struggle to survive the horror of Nazi Germany's systematic marginalization and extermination of their community.
- StarsLeVar BurtonRobert ReedJohn AmosA dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.