The Best Miniseries, TV Movies, and Specials of 2019

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 27, 2019

Above are the 15 highest-scoring special TV programs—including "limited" series, made-for-TV-movies, and one-off specials—debuting in the United States between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. 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 most Netflix and Amazon original films (such as The Irishman and Marriage Story) 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 2019 list instead.) But any streaming movies that bypass theatrical distribution are eligible here.

(Looking for the best regular TV series of 2019? Those will be ranked in a separate list coming in a few days.)

11 of 16 photo by Courtesy of Jared Ames

80 Country Music (PBS)

(#11) The latest lengthy PBS documentary from Ken Burns is an eight-part, 16-hour examination (not including pledge breaks) of the history of one of the most American of art forms. Burns talks on camera to over 80 country music artists and tells the stories of some of the genre's legends, including (but by no means limited to) Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks, Loretta Lynn, and Merle Haggard.

“Absorbing every step of the way, 'Country Music' is like a class reunion you don’t want to leave. You learn something about the people you thought you knew and you come to appreciate them for the faults you never thought you could excuse.” —Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal

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