The Best Miniseries, TV Movies, and Specials of 2016

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 28, 2016

Below 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, 2016 and December 31, 2016. 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.)

13 of 16 photo by Saeed Adyani/Netflix

75 Gilmore Girls: Season 8

The beloved 2000-07 WB/CW dramedy Gilmore Girls ended on a bit of a sour note, with a final season that was missing creator/writer/producer Amy Sherman-Palladino. But she, husband and co-writer/co-director Dan Palladino, and virtually the entire Stars Hollow gang returned for this Netflix revival, consisting of four 90-minute movies/episodes set during a different season over the course of one year. Many reviewers were happy to have the show back, though the new episodes did draw some criticism, most notably for its format.

(Netflix)

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