The Best Limited Series on HBO
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Are you sitting on your couch wondering why every movie is flirting with a three-hour runtime? Do you constantly find yourself searching for when "Part Two" of a popular television series will be released? Well, do I have the solution for you! It's called the limited series. It's like a regular TV show, but it's only around eight(ish) episodes. Sure, you could just as easily view them as eight-hour-long movies, but we're looking at the glass hall full here.
HBO, the undisputed king of prestige dramas, understands why limited series have their appeal. Usually, the network's regular seasons are only around eight to ten episodes anyway. Thank you, HBO, but we can do even better here. How about eight to ten episodes for a full story? Well, HBO excels at that, too. HBO hosts political satires (Tanner '88), meta-cult favorites (Irma Vep), comic-book adaptations (Watchmen), historical dramas (Chernobyl), and much, much more. Don't just take our word for it—check out some of HBO's best limited series below.
Chernobyl
Chernobyl is one of the few places on Earth where the effects of nuclear radiation can be witnessed firsthand. (Though, of course, you certainly should not make a visit.) HBO's five-episode series dramatizes what went wrong back in 1986, depicting an Oppenheimer-esque plot about the dangers of nuclear power. Plus, the Chernobyl showrunner would later go on to work on The Last of Us. If that doesn't scream dystopia, then what does?
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Telemarketers
Following two telemarketers on their pursuit to uncover the criminal secrets of the entire industry, Telemarketersis a Michael Moore-inspired dive into one of the most widespread exploitative practices in the country.
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Angels in America
Mike Nichols's version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Kushner play about the AIDS epidemic is one of HBO's greatest projects of all time. The series stars Meryl Streep, Jeffrey Wright, Emma Thompson, and Al Pacino, who play multiple characters—as well as angels who visit a man living with AIDS.
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Watchmen
A pseudo-sequel and a modern-day remake of Alan Moore's iconic graphic novel, 2019's Watchmen added many inventive new stories, including Hooded Justice and his ties to the real-life 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
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Tanner '88
Robert Altman's Tanner '88 is a wry and witty political satire about a fictional Michigan congressman who runs for president. Filmed at the same time as the actual race, Altman's political figure runs against the very real Jesse Jackson and eventual nominee Michael Dukakis, ribbing the real world as much as its fake campaign.
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I May Destroy You
Written by and starring Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You follows a celebrated novelist who struggles to remember a sexual assault after blacking out at a party.
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Irma Vep
Irma Vep is one of the most meta projects ever conceived. Not only is the title an anagram of "Vampire"—but the series is an Irma Vep remake... which follows the production of a Les Vampires remake. Plus, the miniseries features elements of director Olivier Assayas's own life. All the while, Alicia Vikander plays an actress starring in the fictional TV series about a femme fatale. Over the course of Irma Vep, the barriers between character and self start to blend.
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Band of Brothers
The Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-created miniseries follows the duo's previous collaboration on Saving Private Ryan. In Band of Brothers, they return with another World War II tale of action and bravery. A dramatized account of the "Easy Company," Band of Brothers follows an airborne division of the US Army throughout Normandy, the invasion of Germany, and the taking of the Eagle's Nest.
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