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.)

9 of 16 photo by Ran Mendelson/HBO

83 Our Boys (HBO)

(#9) HBO's 10-part miniseries is based on true events and examines the repercussions of a pair of tragic events occurring near the Israel-Gaza border in 2014: the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens, and the subsequent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager that eventually leads to an all-out war. Filmed on location in Israel, Our Boys comes from Hagai Levi (creator of The Affair and In Treatment) and Noah Stollman, and is directed in part by Joseph Cedar (Footnote).

“It’s clear from the outset of this dazzling chronicle set in Israel that there’s not going to be any softening of its extraordinary tension, its scenes of anguished suffering, its furiously eloquent debates on justice and loyalty, its epic crowd scenes. ... A work of distinguished writing, fearless in its sophistication, unfailing in its powers.” —Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal

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