10 Best TV Shows With Only 8 Episodes

Published Aug 6, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer. Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV. When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama. Warning: This article mentions sexual assault. We are now in an era of television where a show no longer needs dozens of episodes or multiple seasons to have a lasting impact. Thanks to the rise of limited series, creators are now able to tell focused stories without the pressure of stretching narratives beyond their natural conclusion. Some of the most memorable shows of recent years have continuously proven that a brilliantly crafted eight-episode season can deliver the same level of intrigue as TV shows with multiple installments. However, not every limited series delivers what it is supposed to. Those that do have found the balance between developing complex characters and telling a story that is easy to binge, which is important in today’s streaming landscape. Thankfully, the best miniseries stand out for their taut storytelling. Lessons In Chemistry (2023) Adapted from Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling novel of the same name, Lessons in Chemistry is set in the 1960s and chronicles Elizabeth Zott’s (Brie Larson) intriguing journey. After being pushed out of her lab career, Elizabeth unexpectedly becomes the host of a cooking show. However, instead of following traditional recipes, she teaches cooking through the lens of science by explaining chemical reactions, precision, and nutrition in a way that empowers her audience. With its unique concept of combining science with a cooking show, Lessons in Chemistry perfectly captured what made Garmus’ book such an engrossing read. As much as the social commentary and emotional core of the series contribute to Lessons in Chemistry​​​​​'s success, Brie Larson’s performance as Elizabeth Zott was the show's crowning glory. The Night Of (2016) HBO is widely considered the home of prestige TV shows, a fact that is further demonstrated by its eight-episode series, The Night Of. Based on the British show Criminal Justice, The Night Of stars Riz Ahmed as Nasir “Naz” Khan, a college student whose life spirals out of control after a seemingly harmless night out quickly turns into a nightmare when he wakes up next to a murdered woman and becomes the prime suspect in the crime. Over its eight episodes, The Night Of pieces together Naz’s story and the events that led to the unraveling of his life as he knew it. The HBO crime drama excels at gripping its audience. Even as some things begin to make sense, the show’s ending remains ambiguous and leaves its viewers to come up with their conclusion. Bodies (2023) Image courtesy of Netflix The science fiction genre is extremely versatile, which is why it blends so well with other types of storytelling. In Netflix’s crime drama Bodies, four detectives investigate the same mysterious murder victim. The catch, however, is that each detective exists in a different time period: 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053. Bodies' premise is instantly fascinating, making it an easy show to binge and hooking viewers from its very episode. The series builds its central question around larger ideas of time travel and identity. Most importantly, Bodies is the perfect example of how science fiction can expertly blend with other genres. The Dropout (2022) When the story of Elizabeth Holmes and her biomedical company Theranos hit the news, it instantly became a fascinating watercooler topic. A documentary and several think pieces followed the harrowing news of what was truly going on at Theranos. Unsurprisingly, Hulu decided to tap into the story with its hit TV show, The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried as the main character. The series shows how Holmes went from being celebrated as one of the youngest self-made female billionaires in the world to reviled as one of the most infamous figures in Silicon Valley history. What makes it such an engrossing series is how much it feels like fiction when The Dropout is actually a true story. The Hulu TV show peels back the layers and tries to get at the core of who Holmes is, thanks to Seyfried’s incredible, Emmy-winning performance. The actor captures both Holmes’ confidence and the uncertainty behind her carefully constructed public image. The Fall Of The House Of Usher (2023) Released on Netflix in 2023 as part of Mike Flanagan’s deal with the streamer, The Fall of the House of Usher is one of the best entries in the Flanaverse. Inspired by the works of the legendary Edgar Allan Poe, the Netflix series outlines a chilling story of the calamity that befalls the Usher household. The Fall of the House of Usher brilliantly combines horror with a tale about a family tragedy. As the Usher patriarch begins explaining how he lost his children, one cannot help but feel sorry for the man, even though he wasn’t exactly the perfect father. Flanagan excels at making viewers care about his characters, whether they are good or evil, and there’s no better example of that than The Fall of the House of Usher. Giri/Haji (2019) One of the best yet underrated crime dramas of the 2010s, Giri/Haji centers around Kenzo Mori (Takehiro Hira), a Tokyo detective who travels to London after his younger brother Yuto (Yōsuke Kubozuka), a member of the Japanese criminal underworld, is believed to have murdered a Yakuza associate. Kenzo’s mission is to find Yuto and prevent a violent gang war in his home city. Giri/Haji is first and foremost a crime drama, but it also has important things to say. The title translates roughly from Japanese as “Duty/Shame”, which reflects the show’s central conflict. Throughout the series, Kenzo struggles between personal loyalty and honoring his family. With its gritty tone and dual setting of Tokyo and London, it's a wonder that Giri/Haji isn’t as iconic as it should be. Unbelievable (2019) Inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning article An Unbelievable Story of Rape by Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller, Netflix’s Unbelievable is a crime drama that explores how sexual assault affects victims and how law enforcement treats such cases. The series isn’t by any means an easy watch, nor should it be due to the heaviness of its subject matter. What Unbelievable does so well is expertly balance telling an important story with a mystery. The central question in the show does not by any means overpower what the series was trying to say because it doesn't use trauma as entertainment. The show instead focuses on the human consequences of being ignored and misunderstood while piecing together clues that lead to the arrest of the perpetrator. Sharp Objects (2018) Gone Girl is without a doubt the most famous Gillian Flynn novel, but Sharp Objects is also a gripping tale. The HBO miniseries adaptation follows Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a troubled journalist who returns to her small hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate the murders of two local young girls. Flynn's Sharp Objects novel was recently ranked at #19 on The New York Times' list of "The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century," while Gone Girl ​​​​​​earned the coveted #1 spot. Sharp Objects’ biggest strength is that it is not just another murder mystery. The HBO dark thriller is a study of a woman trying to survive her own past. Camille is not a traditional hero. She is flawed, self-destructive, and emotionally isolated, but the series makes viewers understand why she became that way. Devs (2020) Image courtesy of Everett Collection Helmed by Alex Garland, who is known for his work on Ex Machina and Annihilation, Devs is a philosophical science fiction thriller that centers around Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno). Following the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend, Sergei (Karl Glusman), Lily discovers the hidden Devs project, a secret research division led by the company’s CEO, Forest (Nick Offerman). Like many philosophical sci-fi shows that came before and after it, Devs' message about free will versus determinism is still incredibly relevant. The series is beautifully shot and includes haunting music that makes its storyline even more absorbing. The Penguin (2024) The HBO crime drama, The Penguin, continues the story of Gotham City after the events of 2022's The Batman. While the Caped Crusader is often the star of many DC stories, The Penguin shifts its focus to Oswald Cobb, better known as the Penguin, with Colin Farrell reprising the role from the Matt Reeves movie. The critically acclaimed series became an instant success because of how it didn’t focus on a battle between good and evil like many Batman stories, but decided to shed light on one of the best DC villains. The show’s atmosphere is dark, and it has a gritty tone that is reminiscent of the best crime dramas. Above all else, the HBO miniseries is proof that Gotham is interesting even without Batman.