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.)

17 of 21 photo by Anne Marie Fox/HBO

78 #17: Sharp Objects

After his adaptation of Big Little Lies won eight Emmy awards in 2017, director Jean-Marc Vallée returned to HBO in 2018 with another miniseries based on a book. This time, the source material is Gillian Flynn's novel Sharp Objects, with an adaptation scripted by Flynn and Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). A terrific Amy Adams heads the cast as a troubled reporter who returns to her tiny Missouri hometown to investigate the killings of two young girls. (If that sounds bleak, well, it is.) Also starring are Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, Elizabeth Perkins, Eliza Scanlen, and Matt Craven. Expect plenty more Emmy nominations in 2019, when the miniseries becomes eligible.

“Mesmerizing. ... There’s no cat-and-mouse game going on, no taunts from a genius criminal. Sharp Objects instead relies on internal drama and a transfixing Ms. Adams, who lays Camille’s ragged soul bare with sardonicism and self-loathing.” —James Poniewozik, The New York Times

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