8 Near-Perfect HBO Miniseries That Everyone Forgot About

Image via HBO Max Published Aug 19, 2026, 4:24 PM EDT Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres. Sign in to your Collider account HBO has long held a reputation for quality television, producing many of the greatest TV shows of all time, and that includes several iconic miniseries. Combining cinematic production values with intimate long-form storytelling, these shows have played a key role in making HBO the biggest name in “prestige TV." But that said, there’s a lot of prestige TV going around these days, so it’s no surprise that even true masterpieces may slip from public memory. These HBO miniseries may be underrated and often overlooked, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t great. In fact, at least some of them are undeniable television masterpieces that deliver exceptional storytelling, production design, and performances, creating a truly mind-blowing experience. So here’s our selection of some near-perfect HBO miniseries that sadly nobody remembers. 1 ‘Mildred Pierce’ (2011) Image via HBO Adapted from James M. Cain's 1941 novel, Mildred Pierce is a period drama miniseries created by Todd Haynes that stars Kate Winslet as the titular character. A recently-divorced woman in Depression-era Los Angeles, the show follows Mildred’s attempts to establish a restaurant business while navigating a new romance and her troubled relationship with her spoiled daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). Guy Pearce, Miriam Shor, Melissa Leo, and more appear in supporting roles. Arguably one of HBO’s most underrated period dramas, Mildred Pierce garnered largely favorable reviews at the time of its release in 2011, but it didn’t get much attention from audiences. Though it’s often overlooked, the miniseries features some impeccable performances, particularly by Kate Winslet, and an elaborate, period-accurate production. Mildred Pierce also went on to receive several prestigious awards, including five Emmys, with Winslet winning Outstanding Lead Actress and Guy Pearce winning Outstanding Supporting Actor in the miniseries category. 2 ‘The Night Of’ (2016) Image via HBO Created by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, The Night Of is a crime drama miniseries starring Riz Ahmed as Nasir “Naz” Khan, a young Pakistani-American man who wakes up beside a murdered woman he had only met the night before. With no memory of what happened and all the evidence stacked against him, Naz’s future looks desperately bleak, until a relentless lawyer, John Stone (John Turturro), decides to take his case. The series also features Bill Camp, Michael Kenneth Williams, Glenne Headly, and Poorna Jagannathan in key roles. Adapted from the first season of Peter Moffat’s Criminal Justice, The Night Of far surpasses its inspiration through its masterful writing, direction, and performances. Though it begins with a fairly familiar premise, the miniseries takes an intelligent, layered approach to the narrative, transforming it into a timely and complex thriller. The series is a masterpiece, anchored by Ahmed and Turturro’s performances and chemistry, and though it isn’t as talked about these days, The Night Of earned multiple accolades, including five Emmy Awards out of 14 nominations. 3 ‘Station Eleven’ (2021–2022) Image via HBO Created by Patrick Somerville and based on Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel, Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic miniseries set 20 years after civilization collapsed due to a pandemic. The show follows a troupe of traveling performers, whose attempts to rebuild and reimagine the world are upended by an encounter with a violent cult. The series boasts a sprawling ensemble cast that includes Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Matilda Lawler, David Wilmot, Nabhaan Rizwan, Daniel Zovatto, Philippine Velge, and Lori Petty as main characters, with Gael García Bernal, Danielle Deadwyler, David Cross, Caitlin FitzGerald, and more in recurring roles. Most post-apocalyptic shows follow a very familiar, tried-and-tested pattern of bleak, hopeless environments and people, but Station Eleven isn’t like that at all. The series presents a thematically rich exploration of the best of humanity, the things that make life worth living, and the importance of holding on to them even in the worst of times. At the time of its release, Station Eleven received near-universal acclaim for its moving performances, fascinating narrative, and intelligent subversion of genre tropes, and though it’s largely been forgotten by mainstream audiences since then, the show did receive numerous accolades. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The MatrixYou took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 4 ‘Scavengers Reign’ (2023) Image via HBO Max Created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner, and inspired by the duo’s 2016 Adult Swim short film Scavengers, Scavengers Reign is an adult-animated sci-fi series that revolves around the crew of the interstellar cargo ship Demeter 227. After crash landing on an alien planet, the crew becomes separated and stranded, and must find their way back to each other while navigating the unusual environments and lifeforms of this vibrant yet deadly world. The series was produced by Titmouse, Inc. and Green Street Pictures and animated by an international team of animators, with Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Alia Shawkat, Bob Stephenson, Ted Travelstead, and more voicing the characters. An animated sci-fi masterpiece produced over two years, Scavengers Reign is a breathtaking work of art that was widely praised by critics for its writing, atmosphere, art, and animation style. Though it hasn’t received as much attention from viewers as it deserves, the series is easily one of the greatest animated shows of the 2020s, and it earned an Emmy Award for its background design, as well as a nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. Sadly, the show was canceled after just one season, but that does make Scavengers Reign an accessible and easily bingeable treat for sci-fi fans everywhere. 5 ‘Full Circle’ (2023) Image via HBO Max Created and written by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, Full Circle is a mystery drama miniseries inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low. The show revolves around a botched kidnapping in present-day New York City, which uncovers long-buried secrets connecting a wide cast of characters from different backgrounds. The ensemble cast includes Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid, Suzanne Savoy, Jharrel Jerome, Jim Gaffigan, and more in key roles. Kurosawa’s High and Low, itself an adaptation of Evan Hunter’s 1959 novel King’s Ransom, has inspired multiple shows and movies, most recently the 2025 Spike Lee film Highest 2 Lowest. Solomon and Soderbergh’s small-screen reimagining successfully translates the story into a complex mystery, earning critical acclaim for its gripping narrative, compelling performances, and masterful direction. Though it hasn’t received much attention from audiences, the miniseries is a genuine masterpiece of the thriller genre that rewards close attention. 6 ‘Sharp Objects’ (2018) Image via HBO Created by Marti Noxon, Sharp Objects is a miniseries adaptation of Gillian Flynn's 2006 novel starring Amy Adams in the central role. The final directorial work of award-winning filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée before his death in 2021, the series follows troubled reporter Camille Preaker (Adams), who returns to her hometown to cover the murder of two young girls and is forced to confront the haunting memories of her own tragic past. The show also stars Patricia Clarkson as Camille’s mother, Adora Crellin, with Chris Messina, Eliza Scanlen, Matt Craven, Henry Czerny, Elizabeth Perkins, and more in supporting roles. Released in 2018 to widespread critical and audience acclaim, Sharp Objects is a slow-burning, character-driven psychological thriller that has earned praise for its direction, atmosphere, visual style, and acting. Anchored by the nuanced performances of Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, the show thrives on the complex dynamics between its layered characters, which creates an extremely effective sense of tension that pervades the narrative. Though it’s often overlooked these days, Sharp Objects was a major success of the 2010s, winning multiple prestigious awards, including a Satellite Award win for Adams and a Golden Globe for Clarkson. 7 ‘Lovecraft Country’ (2020) Inspired by Matt Ruff’s eponymous 2016 novel, Lovecraft Country is a period horror drama series developed by Misha Green that serves as a continuation of the book rather than a direct adaptation. Set in 1950s America, the show follows Korean War veteran Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors), his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett), and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) as they travel across the country looking for Atticus’s missing father, encountering horrors both real and supernatural. Aunjanue Ellis, Wunmi Mosaku, Abbey Lee, Jamie Chung, Jada Harris, and Michael K. Williams star in other lead roles. Combining the cosmic horrors of H.P. Lovecraft with the real-life horrors of segregation and racism, Lovecraft Country is a unique reimaging of Lovecraftian lore bolstered by its sharp social commentary. Despite being canceled after just one season, the show is easily one of the most fascinating takes on the subgenre ever to grace our screens. Lovecraft Country may have ended too soon and mostly disappeared from public memory, but it’s still a brilliant work of horror drama that won numerous accolades, including two Emmy Awards out of 18 nominations. 8 ‘John Adams’ (2008) Image via HBO Directed by Tom Hooper and adapted from David McCullough’s 2001 biography, John Adams is a miniseries chronicling the life of the titular Founding Father and Second President of the United States. Paul Giamatti stars as John Adams, and the seven-part series explores the first 50 years of United States history through the events of his life. The show’s ensemble cast also includes Laura Linney, Stephen Dillane, David Morse, Tom Wilkinson, Rufus Sewell, Justin Theroux, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and more in key roles. While the miniseries does take some liberties with its historical narrative, John Adams has been widely hailed as a near-perfect biography of one of the most important historical figures involved in the founding of America. The series, though largely forgotten today, was a major critical success in its day and went on to win several accolades, including four Golden Globes and a record-high 13 Emmy Awards, the most of any miniseries in history.