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.)

3 of 21 photo by Larry Watson/HBO

90 #3: The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling

Judd Apatow's nearly five-hour HBO documentary profiles the beloved comedian, who died suddenly in 2016. Tracing Shandling's childhood, personal life, and career—from stand-up to Tonight Show guest host to star of his own groundbreaking cable comedies It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show (on which Apatow served as a writer and producer), Zen Diaries features Shandling himself in a combination of performance footage and candid home movies. The documentary also features interviews with many of the dozens of comedians who considered Shandling a friend, including Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Jim Carrey, Sacha Baron Cohen, James L. Brooks, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jon Favreau, Kevin Nealon, and Bob Saget.

“Diaries is for Shandling fans, certainly, but it’s especially for any kid who might want to become a comic, or write for TV or get into this industry. 'Zen Diaries' is a nearly five-hour-long master’s degree in 'the business,' and also a sober, clear-eyed view of the risks as much as the rewards.” —Verne Gay, Newsday

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