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.)

9 of 16 photo by Courtesy of Netflix

81 Five Came Back (Netflix)

(#9) Narrated by Meryl Streep, this three-part documentary adapts Mark Harris's recent book chronicling the WWII military careers of legendary filmmakers John Ford, Frank Capra, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler. In conjunction with the miniseries, Netflix streamed over a dozen of the war documentaries made by the five directors during their service.

“A must-see for anybody interested in film, World War II, or great story-telling.” —Glenn Garvin, Reason.com

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