Limited Series or Miniseries

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Limited series or miniseries is a form of a television program that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes, usually with a number less than ten, but averaging around six episodes. They might be a stand-alone series with only one season (like Band of Brothers) or have a very small number of episodes for each season (such as Whitechapel).

Ever since the conception of the term, limited or miniseries have been a popular way to adapt literature, when the story is too complex or too long to be presented in a movie, but the producers do not want to make a full, 24-episode, season out of it either.

Some of the most recent examples are A Discovery of Witches, 8-episode series adapted from the book of the same name by the author Deborah Harkness and Strike, based on the detective novels by J. K. Rowling. One particular miniseries that I am looking forward to is Good Omens, coming in the spring of this year.

What are some of your favorite limited or miniseries? Do you think that is a better way to adapt literature for the screen rather than with a movie or a fuller TV show?

[Adeline Morior]

I have watched so much, I have to say I forget. Some Miniseries that comes to mind that I likes: The Queen's Gambit, WandaVision, Moon Knight, Dexter: New Blood, I forget some. Limited series are great but sad when they end and you know it's the end. But they tend to be done really well mostly due to compacting of episodes and having to really "choreograph" how the entire series needs to go in order to best relay the story in the limited episodes.