8 Greatest Hidden Gem Miniseries You’ll Wish You Watched Sooner

In recent years, many miniseries have earned awards and acclaim, hailed by audiences and critics alike as some of the best shows of all time. A few of them, like Netflix’s Emmy-winning drama Adolescence, have even gone on to have a significant social impact, sparking important conversations about society’s most pressing issues. But as much as we love these popular shows, there are also a ton of great miniseries that haven’t received the attention they deserve.

Some of these are niche gems that flew under the radar, and others are acclaimed hits that were wildly popular at one point but have since faded from the limelight. But even though they may be underrated, these shows still have what it takes to truly enthrall an audience. Read on to discover our handpicked selection of underrated miniseries that you’ll wish you had watched sooner.

1

‘The Underground Railroad’ (2021)

Image via Amazon

Based on Colson Whitehead’s eponymous 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad is a magical realist historical fantasy drama created and directed by Barry Jenkins. Set in the 1800s, the series reimagines the real-life Underground Railroad, the network of abolitionists who helped transport escaped slaves from the South to the North, as an actual subterranean train to freedom. Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, Fred Hechinger, Peter Mullan, Mychal-Bella Bowman, and Sheila Atim star in lead roles, with recurring characters played by Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Lily Rabe, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and more.

A mesmerizing series adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad was universally acclaimed when it premiered in May 2021. With stellar performances and an unflinching narrative, it’s a television masterpiece that’s equal parts beautiful, horrifying, and painfully human. The series earned several accolades, including seven Emmy nominations, a BAFTA, a Peabody Award, and the Golden Globe for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, but it’s still sorely underwatched these days.

2

‘Small Axe’ (2020)

Image via Amazon Prime Video

A British anthology series that includes five films set across three decades, Small Axe was created and directed by Steve McQueen and explores the history of West Indian immigrants in London. Each of the films follows a separate story set against the backdrop of real-life events that happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. The anthology is brought to life by an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Letitia Wright, John Boyega, Malachi Kirby, Micheal Ward, Shaun Parkes, and more.

Small Axe premiered three of its episodes at the 2020 New York Film Festival and screened two at the Cannes Film Festival the same year, earning critical acclaim from both. A powerful, educational, and unapologetic series that movingly chronicles the political and personal experiences of London’s West Indian community, all five of these films have earned universal acclaim, as has the anthology as a whole. Though it isn’t quite as well-known internationally as it ought to be, the series garnered several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a Peabody Award, and six BAFTAs out of 15 nominations.

3

‘Devs’ (2020)

Image via Hulu

Created, written, and directed by Alex Garland, Devs is a sci-fi thriller miniseries that revolves around a ground-breaking quantum computing project and its enigmatic founder, Forest (Nick Offerman). Sonoya Mizuno stars as Lily Chan, a software engineer working at Forest’s tech company, who is pulled into a complex and dangerous investigation after the mysterious death of her boyfriend. The show also features Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Karl Glusman, and Alison Pill in lead roles.

A truly mindboggling work of science fiction, Devs is a fascinating Silicon Valley thriller that explores themes of free will vs. determinism and the very nature of reality. A highly imaginative sci-fi drama, the series received four Emmy nominations and earned praise from critics and viewers alike for its cinematography, performances, writing, and direction. It’s a rather dense and complicated story, which may be why it hasn’t quite gotten the attention it deserves from wider audiences, but it’s also one of the best sci-fi shows of all time.

4

‘One Day’ (2024)

Image via Netflix

A romantic drama limited series, One Day is an adaptation of the eponymous 2009 novel by David Nicholls, previously adapted as a 2011 film. The series version stars Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall as Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, two people from vastly different backgrounds who meet shortly after graduating from the University of Edinburgh and continue to catch up with each other on the same day every year for the next 20 years. The show also features Eleanor Tomlinson, Essie Davis, Tim McInnerny, Toby Stephens, and more in supporting roles.

Released on Netflix just in time for Valentine’s Day 2024, One Day was a huge hit with streaming audiences at the time, but it’s far more than just an easily forgotten seasonal series. A sweeping, romantic story exploring intricate personal dynamics over a lifetime, the show is a grounded and heartwarming journey that’s enjoyable no matter the time of year. Though still a bit underrated outside of genre circles, One Day has earned praise from critics and fans for its writing, direction, and performances, especially those of its two leads.

5

‘The English’ (2022)

Image via Prime Video

Written and directed by Hugo Blick, The English is a revisionist Western miniseries starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. The show follows Englishwoman Lady Cornelia Locke (Blunt), who arrives in the American West in 1890 seeking revenge on the man responsible for her son’s death, finding an unlikely ally in ex-cavalry scout Eli Whipp (Spencer), a member of the Pawnee Nation. Rafe Spall, Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, Valerie Pachner, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, and more appear in recurring roles.

Easily one of the most underrated Western shows of recent years, The English may not have received the mainstream attention it deserves, but it did earn highly positive reviews from critics at the time of its release. A visually stunning drama anchored by the highly compelling performances of its lead stars, it’s an ambitious Western series that’s a delight to watch even when its plot runs into the occasional rough patch. The show garnered nominations for five British Academy Television Awards, winning the award for Best Costume Design, and Emily Blunt’s performance earned her a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series.

6

‘A Very English Scandal’ (2018)

A dramatized exploration of the real-life 1970s Thorpe scandal, A Very English Scandal is a British historical drama miniseries created and written by Russell T. Davies and based on John Preston‘s eponymous 2016 book. Hugh Grant stars as Liberal Party MP Jeremy Thorpe, who tries to get his former lover Norman (Ben Whishaw) killed for the sake of his political career. The show also stars Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge, Monica Dolan, Paul Hilton, Jonathan Hyde, and more in key roles.

Though it isn’t quite as widely discussed as it used to be, A Very English Scandal was quite popular when it premiered in 2018, earning highly positive reviews from critics and viewers. The show was awarded four BAFTAs out of 12 nominations, and its success led to the production of two more based-on-truth miniseries, A Very British Scandal (2021) and A Very Royal Scandal (2024). Anchored by its stellar performances, A Very English Scandal is a thoroughly engaging watch that may not be all that historically accurate but is still very entertaining in its exploration of sex, ambition, politics, and systemic homophobia.

7

‘The Little Drummer Girl’ (2018)

Based on John le Carré’s eponymous 1983 novel, The Little Drummer Girl is a British spy drama miniseries directed by Park Chan-wook. Set in 1979, the show stars Florence Pugh as a young aspiring actress who is recruited by Mossad agents to infiltrate a Palestinian group. Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgård co-star as the Israeli agents running the operation, with Michael Moshonov, Simona Brown, Clare Holman, and Charles Dance in other lead roles.

A gripping geopolitical thriller that presents a nuanced and layered picture of the Israel-Palestine conflict, The Little Drummer Girl is a show that has taken on greater significance in light of the present political climate. A masterpiece of writing, direction, acting, and production, this slow-burning spy drama keeps things suspenseful while exploring the lasting impact of British foreign policy in the Middle East and the morally ambiguous motivations of characters on both sides. The series earned near-universal acclaim when it first premiered in 2018, and though it’s not as talked-about these days, it’s easily one of the most absorbing John le Carré adaptations ever made.

8

‘Lovecraft Country’ (2020)

Inspired by Matt Ruff’s eponymous 2016 novel, Lovecraft Country is a horror drama series developed by Misha Green that serves as a continuation of the book rather than a direct adaptation. Jonathan Majors stars as Atticus Black, a young Black man traveling across 1950s America in search of his missing father with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance). In the process, they face both the human horrors of racism and segregation and terrifying monsters pulled from the pages of H.P. Lovecraft.

Lovecraft Country technically wasn’t planned as a miniseries, but it was sadly canceled after just one season. That one season, however, was highly acclaimed by critics and viewers, earning praise for its performances, writing, and historical narrative. Balancing social drama with riveting horror, this thrilling reimagining of Lovecraftian lore earned numerous accolades, including 18 Emmy nominations, and the series was named one of the top 10 TV shows of 2020 by the American Film Institute.