The Best Miniseries, TV Movies, and Specials of 2018

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 29, 2018

Above are the 20 highest-scoring special TV programs—including "limited" series, made-for-TV-movies, and one-off specials—debuting in the United States between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. 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. (Looking for the best regular TV series of 2018? Those are ranked in a separate list.)

Note that Netflix original films (such as Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) generally open in at least a few theaters prior to (or in conjunction with) their streaming debuts, and are excluded here. (They will be eligible for our Best Movies of 2018 list instead.)

10 of 21 photo by Justin Downing/SHOWTIME

This five-episode co-production between Showtime and Britain's Sky Atlantic stars an Emmy-nominated Benedict Cumberbatch as a drunken playboy attempting to overcome a traumatic childhood. It's an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novels by Edward St. Aubyn that ultimately spans over 40 years and is set in multiple countries. (Each episode covers one of the books.) Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hugo Weaving, Blythe Danner, Allison Williams, and Holliday Grainger also star.

“The miniseries is an achievement on two fronts. For one thing, it’s the most remarkably faithful adaptation of a series of books in recent memory, capturing the tone and the aesthetic of the Melrose novels without sacrificing cohesion. But Patrick Melrose is also darkly entertaining, veering between young Patrick’s anguish and older Patrick’s episodes of situational comedy without diminishing either.” —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic

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