Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for multiple shows.One thing better than a great series is a great ending to one. Miniseries are abundant, and we often feel a sense of nostalgia when they end, but a rounded-out story is much better than just watching episode by episode of a strung-out narrative. Not to say that any show with more than one season is strung out—but plenty are guilty of that. If a series is meant to continue across multiple seasons, it simply has to be good.
The perfect ending to a miniseries is one that draws a decent conclusion, but also one that allows us to see all characters get their due. Other times, it can be open-ended and encourage viewers to imagine a great new narrative emerging from it. Whichever version it might be here, these great miniseries have perfect endings—though, be warned—there may be some spoilers ahead.
1
‘Unbelievable’ (2019)
Unbelievable is one of the best Netflix miniseries based on shocking true events. It stars Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever, and it was based on a news article from 2015 that covered the Washington and Colorado sexual assault cases. Unbelievable has eight thrilling and emotionally packed episodes, following detectives Rasmussen (Collette) and Duvall (Wever) as they work on the serial sexual assault case. The show also follows and opens with Dever as Marie, the survivor of a sexual assault who reports her assailant.
The series very painfully depicts the process of reporting sexual assault; from having to recount the event to various people to undergoing medical tests that are painful and usually resurface the trauma for the victim. Unbelievable ends on a high note, though, despite its heavy themes; Duvall and Rasmussen catch the person responsible for the sexual crimes, and life feels a little bit safer after the process. Although the series does take us up and down, it provides a sense of accomplishment at the end, making it one of the more impressive and positive endings to a miniseries.
2
‘Station Eleven’ (2020–2021)
Station Eleven is an underrated sci-fi miniseries that aired on HBO at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. It is one of the more critically acclaimed sci-fi shows out there, but still remains underseen by the general audience. The series stars MacKenzie Davis as a woman surviving in a post-apocalyptic future. Station Eleven, with its post-disease themes, came at a pretty interesting time in history, and doesn’t specify COVID-19 as the disease in question, but alludes to it in many ways. This was potentially too soon for some viewers, so Station Eleven slipped under the radar.
Station Eleven is set in a dystopian future, about 20 years after a flu pandemic nearly took out the entire civilization. Kirsten (Davis) travels across America with a group of travelers and entertainers, while people around her believe in a utopian area called Station Eleven. The show emphasizes resilience, survival, and bravery in the face of the unknown. Plenty of viewers considered this show to have a perfect ending; everything is concluded nicely, there are no open moments that would force the showrunners to try and insist on more episodes, and despite the potential for the show to continue, it sits nicely where it is, as it is now.
3
‘Chernobyl’ (2019)
Chernobyl is arguably one of the best miniseries of all time, and it was inspired by the real events that took place in 1986. It depicts the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, delving into the events before the explosion, the investigation afterward, and the first responders on the scene, such as firefighters, soldiers, scientists, and doctors. The series was given plenty of accolades, and despite some historical inaccuracies, it’s an emotionally packed roller coaster, depicting human error and the capacity to admit mistakes and try to correct them.
Chernobyl opens with the Chernobyl nuclear plant operators just before the explosion. Very soon, a Soviet scientist, Valery Legasov (Jared Harris), arrives in Pripyat and begins an investigation on what caused the reactor to explode. Legasov dies of suicide two years after the explosion, but leaves the evidence he collected during his investigation. In the end, this means he admits the guilt of not being able to prevent the disaster, but also admonishes the government for covering things up. The ending implies Legasov’s legacy literally made the world safer, which is a brilliant way to wrap things up.
4
‘The Penguin’ (2024)
The Penguin is one of the best miniseries on HBO or ever, and has a perfectly suitable ending for the story it gave us. The Penguin is a spin-off series of Matt Reeves‘ feature film The Batman, and he succeeded in creating a Gotham that is dark, sinister, but also very human and grounded in certain ways. The show focuses on one of Batman’s most prominent enemies, Oswald Cobb, a.k.a. The Penguin. Colin Farrell steps into the role of Cobb, and if you didn’t know it was him beneath the mask, you never would’ve even guessed it—the costumes and makeup are so convincing, and so beautifully made, that we see the man underneath as Cobb, too.
The Penguin is set after The Batman, showing Cobb trying to take the reins of the Falcone crime family, now that the boss is dead. However, Falcone’s daughter Sofia (Cristin Milioti) gets released from Arkham Asylum, and plans to take over the Falcone crime syndicate herself. The Penguin has one of the potentially most shocking endings because Cobb does something unexpected; up until that point, he was the protagonist, so we see him as a sort of hero. However, his final move confirms him as a ruthless villain and flips our expectations and our lulled sense of comfort in Cobb; this is perfect because viewers needed that reminder, but it’s still a sort of ending that sticks with you.
5
‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)
Mare of Easttown is a miniseries full of thrills, catharsis, and emotional heaviness. Watching it feels like diving into a detective’s broken life so deeply that we begin to feel like her. She’s exhausted, she’s resolved, but she’s also carrying a lot of suppressed trauma. It is a drama at heart, but Mare of Easttown is also a very thrilling and exciting show that has a lot of interesting and downright shocking twists up until the very end.
Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) is a detective troubled by an unresolved case of a missing girl, when another girl winds up dead. Now, trying to find justice for two young women, Mare enters a web of lies that even those closest to her are weaving; she doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe, and the show very unexpectedly and without pomp delivers quite devastating moments. However, the ending is pretty much a high note compared to the rest—Mare continues therapy, unburdening herself of the trauma that tormented her for years, and ends up with a guy who seems nice. We see a beautiful resolution for a detective who goes through great mental anguish and learns some devastating truths.
6
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020)
The Queen’s Gambit is one of the most popular Netflix miniseries of all time; it was watched by a record number of viewers within the first week of release, and it encouraged girls around the world and people in general to become more interested in chess. The Queen’s Gambit was based on the book of the same name, and stars Anya Taylor-Joy in one of her greatest roles, where she showed she was capable of leading a series on her own. It’s pretty much a masterpiece series, and rewatchable from start to finish.
The Queen’s Gambit follows Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy), from her upbringing in an orphanage and addiction problems to her college days and rise from a chess prodigy to a tournament winner. The show depicts her as an ambitious woman pursuing perfection and greatness, while her perseverance, focus, and natural chess talent make her a very compelling protagonist. The show ends perfectly—she wins a game against a champion in Moscow, and is free of her addiction; after all the turbulence, the show ends on a peaceful note, with her sitting down in a park and watching two older men play chess. It’s a beautiful full circle moment that feels like the perfect ending.
7
‘Adolescence’ (2025)
Adolescence is the most recent groundbreaking miniseries co-created by Stephen Graham, who also stars in it. It was directed entirely by Philip Barantini, who worked with Graham on the one-take movie, Boiling Point. Just like there, Barantini opted to direct all four episodes of Adolescence in one take. Although it looks effortless when we watch the final product, the show’s themes are quite heavy, and it seems like it couldn’t have been easy for its main cast to pull off the whole thing in one take.
Adolescence follows the Miller family, witnessing the arrest of their 13-year-old son Jamie (Owen Cooper), accused of killing a classmate who rejected him. While the show is an exploration of Jamie’s life, the ending focuses on his father; the narrative goes from observing this teenager becoming a product of his time to his father wondering whether he was the product of his upbringing. Miller decides to go on living, despite the things that happened, because he realizes his grief isn’t only his; he shares the tragedy with his wife and daughter, and shouldn’t take all the guilt for what happened by himself. It’s incredibly emotional, cathartic, and heartbreaking, but also beautiful in many ways.
8
‘Sharp Objects’ (2018)
Sharp Objects is an HBO miniseries that is still widely talked about; many consider it the network’s best miniseries, and it is indeed a gripping thriller that toys with the mind pretty often. Sharp Objects was based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, and it follows an investigative journalist, Camille (Amy Adams), looking into the deaths of two young girls in her hometown in Missouri. Adams very powerfully delivers a sort of anti-hero personality, showing us Camille’s imperfections while also showing the reasons she is imperfect.
Camille is a recovering alcoholic and, following her release from a psychiatric facility, she decides to investigate the murders of two young girls in her Missouri hometown. She reunites with her unsettling mother Adora (Patricia Clarkson) and half sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen); at their home, Camille experiences strange things that distort her reality. In the end, when we and Camille finally see who the killer is, it feels like it almost moves the ground from beneath our feet. I would really feel sad if I spoiled this for you, so I’m not going to; just go and watch it, like, right away.
9
‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)
Mike Flanagan has a knack for creating some very touching horror stories, understanding the horror isn’t just about the scares, the gore, or the unsettling bits. Horror reflects all the deeper, more moving and darker feelings of humanity, from fear and anger to grief and trauma. In Midnight Mass, Flanagan tackles the themes of religion, the lines between good and evil, life and death, and the inevitable versus what we can control. Midnight Mass is supported by a beautiful ensemble of incredibly talented actors who bring out the best in the characters that Flanagan writes for them.
Midnight Mass is set on the remote Crockett Island, where a very small, tight community lives and not much happens generally. The events begin with the arrival of two outsiders—a returning resident, Riley (Zach Gilford), and the new father, Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater). As weird things start happening around the island, the residents begin facing their trauma, feelings of mortality, and futility of life. Although it sounds a bit depressing, Midnight Mass is beautiful, also in part because of its cathartic ending. It shows two teenage residents of Crockett Island surviving a nighttime massacre by looking out into the rising sun. The kids are, of course, there to symbolize hope and new life, while the sunrise symbolizes rebirth amid destruction.
10
‘Band of Brothers’ (2001)
Potentially the most famous miniseries HBO has ever made is Band of Brothers, and this critically acclaimed, highly-rated show is everything it promises to be. It depicts the events of World War II, especially on the Western European Front, and the soldiers that went through some of the most prominent events of World War II. It is dramatized, but also told faithfully from the perspectives of surviving soldiers, showing real-life interviews with some participants. This is why Band of Brothers is so beloved—it was made with attention to detail, historical accuracy, and this idea that telling the truth, even if it is painful, is the best way to face the world’s history.
Band of Brothers follows the dramatized history of the “Easy” Company (parachute troopers), and depicts them from their training days up until their deployment onto the Western Front; it also depicts the events of D-Day. Still, as much as the show is beautiful, haunting, and quite gruesome sometimes, the ending is very fitting for the entire narrative. All the interviews with the participants finally reveal their names, showing these are some of the show’s most prominent, favorite characters. To see them as having survived and provided personal accounts of the events is touching and rounds out the story perfectly.
Band of Brothers
- Release Date
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2001 – 2001
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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David Frankel, David Nutter, Mikael Salomon, Phil Alden Robinson, Richard Loncraine, Tom Hanks
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Donnie Wahlberg
C. Carwood Lipton
