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.)

20 of 21 photo by Michele K. Short / Netflix

76 #20: Maniac

It's a little bit science fiction and a lot of dark comedy, with some mind-twisting drama and visual flair thrown in for good measure. A Netflix miniseries based on a 2014 Norwegian show, Maniac reunites Superbad co-stars Jonah Hill and Emma Stone as strangers connected by an unusual pharmaceutical trial—intended to fix "anything about the mind, be it mental illness or heartbreak"—that doesn't exactly go to plan. All 10 episodes—which jump from genre to genre—are directed by True Detective's Cary Fukunaga and the adaptation is written by novelist Patrick Somerville (who also worked on The Leftovers). Sally Field, Justin Theroux, and Sonoya Mizuno also star (and all memorably so).

“Maniac is a crescendo across genres that doesn’t stop building. ... Its power comes, in part, from its refusal to sprawl. As a trial of something new, Maniac passes every test, and ascends instantly to take its place among the very best TV of the year. Its eagerness to expose unexpected angles is its great gift.” —Daniel D'Addario, Variety

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