In an era dominated by endless streaming options, starting a new TV show can feel like treading uncertain waters. Will the series go on for a dozen seasons? Or will viewers be left hanging on a heart-stopping cliffhanger, only to face the dreaded ax of cancellation? And that’s not even accounting for the multi-year waits some shows can have between seasons.
Fortunately, the world of miniseries can offer apprehensive viewers a respite from the commitment (and anxiety!) that can come with watching a full-fledged TV series. And if you’ve got an Amazon Prime Video account, you have access to a number of award-winning miniseries at your fingertips, including documentaries, sci-fi mysteries, historical dramas and more that you can finish in a couple of days — no commitment necessary!
Here are the best Prime Video miniseries to binge-watch over a weekend.
The Night Manager
Looking for a prestige spy thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat? The Night Manager, based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré, stars Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier and hotel night auditor, who infiltrates the inner circle of an international arms dealer named Richard Roper, played by Hugh Laurie. The series also stars Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, a Foreign Office agent who initially recruits Pine for the mission, and is determined to bring down Roper by any means necessary.
As Pine is drawn deeper into Roper's world, he faces complex moral dilemmas that test his loyalties, especially when it comes to the enigmatic Burr. The miniseries received critical acclaim upon release and won three Golden Globe awards (one for each of its three acting leads) and also won a Primetime Emmy for director Susanne Bier.
Watch on Prime Video
Daisy Jones & The Six
Adapted from the novel of the same name, the 2023 miniseries Daisy Jones & the Six tells the story of a fictional band that rose to fame in the 1970s. The 10-episode series stars Riley Keough as Daisy Jones and Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne, two characters whose entangled personal and artistic chemistry initially propelled their band from obscurity to unparalleled fame, but eventually led to the band’s sudden dissolution after a fateful concert.
Taylor Jenkins Reid, who wrote the novel upon which the series is based, has said the story was partly inspired by her experience growing up and watching Fleetwood Mac performances on television, and classic rock fans will surely notice the parallels between the fictional band and its real-life inspiration in this compelling drama.
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Tales from the Loop
Tales from the Loop is an eight-episode science fiction series that focuses on life for small-town residents who live near the fictional town of Mercer, Ohio, which is constructed near “The Loop,” a mysterious underground facility that works to “make the impossible, possible.” The 2020 series is based on the concept artwork of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, and each episode tells a self-contained story that focuses on a different resident of the town while being interconnected with the larger mystery of The Loop.
The show explores various science fiction and philosophical themes, such as loneliness, aging, and the consequences of scientific experimentation. Though fans have been clamoring for a spin-off or continuation of some sort, Tales from the Loop in its current form tells a complete story on its own terms, and is a fascinating, mind-bending watch sci-fi fans shouldn’t miss.
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Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets
The Duggar family became a household name thanks to the 17 Kids and Counting series (and its subsequent spin-offs), which presented them as a relatable, wholesome family. However, this Prime Video documentary Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets sheds light on what life as a Duggar was really like, going in-depth into the multiple instances of abuse that happened behind the scenes both before and during the TV shows, and exposing the lengths that the family went to in order to cover up what was really going on when the cameras weren’t rolling.
This documentary miniseries also broadly explores the family’s connection to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), a religious group that has often been labeled as cult-like. With unprecedented access to members of the Duggar family and meticulous storytelling, the series is an eye-opening exploration of not only the Duggar family itself but also the fundamentalist culture that helped create them.
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War & Peace
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace has been adapted numerous times over the years for both TV and film, but few capture the essence of this epic novel quite as well as 2016’s six-part War & Peace BBC miniseries. Starring Paul Dano as Pierre Bezukhov, James Norton as Andrei Bolkonsky, and Lily James as Natasha Rostova, this series received critical acclaim for its strong, character-based focus as well as its lavish production values.
Though no series could truly capture all of Tolstoy's epic wartime saga of love and loss, this miniseries comes remarkably close. In fact, The Telegraph named it one of the best page-to-screen adaptations ever, making this one miniseries literary fans definitely shouldn’t skip.
Watch on Prime Video
