The Best Miniseries, TV Movies, and Specials of 2017

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 26, 2017

Above are the highest-scoring special TV programs—including "limited" series, made-for-TV-movies, and one-off specials—debuting in the United States between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. Titles are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding, and any programs with fewer than 7 reviews are excluded. (Note that regular TV series will be ranked in a separate list coming later this week.)

4 of 16 photo by Mark Schafer/Netflix

84 Wormwood (Netflix)

(#4) The newest entry on this list (it began streaming just a few weeks ago), this Netflix miniseries is a successful stylistic experiment for acclaimed documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. In Wormwood, he blends his usual interviews with (unusually for him) scripted reenactments featuring actors Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Tim Blake Nelson, Bob Balaban, and more to follow one man's twist-filled, six-decade investigation into the mysterious death of his father—an event that is tied to the CIA's secret LSD experiments.

“On a purely narrative level, Wormwood is consistently gripping and eye-opening, but what truly elevates it to the realm of greatness is Morris’ boundary-pushing storytelling approach. ... Redefining what a documentary can do and be.” —Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

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