Marissa’s Top 10 Limited TV Series of 2020

In what turned out to be a year that nobody saw coming it seemed like we had, very suddenly, an unlimited amount of time to spend at home. For many, myself included, this extra time indoors led to an increase in screen time and the discovery of plenty of new and old shows.

My favorite TV series format, as I decided this year, is the limited series. The limited series gives you just enough of a show to build an arc, get you invested in characters, and then wrap itself up with a nice shiny bow and, oftentimes, leave you wanting more.

In an age of binge-watching and traditional dramas and comedies spanning 20+ hours of story, the limited series builds a world in a fraction of that time, sometimes only offering six episodes to dive into, or more often than not, eight.

In a year when there was enough drama happening in real life, it was nice to escape into drama on the silver screen.

Even when it felt like our attention spans were moving in every direction, in no particular order, here are my top 10 limited TV series that brought people together even while being physically apart in 2020. Spoilers ahead!

1. The Last Dance

There’s something about sports that just tends to bring people together, and in a year when many sporting events had to be canceled or postponed, we were graced by the presence of The Last Dance, an ESPN docuseries.

Following the life and career of arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, The Last Dance gave the world a look behind the curtains of a legendary career.

Over the course of ten episodes, we journey from the beginning of Jordan’s NBA tenure to the end of his impressive reign with the inimitable Chicago Bulls team of the late 90s, reminding us why Jordan will forever be one of the greats.

2. Stateless

Originally an Australian series, Stateless debuted on Netflix this summer. Chock full of a wealth of Australian talent, the limited series features Cate Blanchett (also billed as a creator!) and stars Jai Courtney and Yvonne Strahovski.

The six-episode drama is based on true stories about Australian immigration detention and follows the stories of four strangers with different backgrounds, who find themselves at one of these centers in the Australian desert.

The real-life story from which Stateless was inspired is one that sheds light on some of the issues within the Australian Government’s mandatory detention program, and is one that also involves an alleged “cult.”

3. Mrs. America

Speaking of Cate Blanchett… In a year with a major election, it seemed we were inundated with politics every time we turned on the news or opened social media for that matter. It made sense why FX and Hulu chose to drop Mrs. America this year.

The nine-episodes of Mrs. America featured an all-star cast including the aforementioned Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, Rose Byrne as feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisolm, and Elizabeth Banks, John Slattery, Margo Martindale, and Sarah Paulson as various political figures from the 70s.

The series does a decent job of showing the wins and losses for both sides of the aisle in the fight for and against the Equal Rights Amendment and is one of those rare shows that teaches you history while being genuinely entertaining.

Whichever side of the political debate you fall on, there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy in Mrs. America, and it’s also a look at how some of today’s ideological movements were born and have evolved over decades.

4. Tiger King

Okay, so would we have become so obsessed with Joe Exotic and Carole Baskins if it had been any other year? Probably! Tiger King hit Netflix in late March 2020, timed almost to the day with many states’ lockdown orders.

What better way to get your mind off of a global pandemic than with an absolutely bonkers story about exotic cats and the people who raise and rescue them. Joe Exotic became an overnight sensation, as did his nemesis Carole Baskins.

The best part of Tiger King, I think, is how just when you think you had seen the craziest part of the docuseries, the episode would end on a massive cliffhanger and suck you right into the next one.

Somebody’s leg was mauled by a Tiger, there was a case of arson, there may or may not have been a dead husband fed to the tigers, Joe had an absolute banger of a song about his hatred towards Carole Baskin, and Doc Antle may or may not have been leading a cult? 

There are really no other words for the mayhem of Tiger King than WILD, and if you were avoiding it when it was popular I urge you to binge the docuseries as soon as possible — you will not regret it!

5. Hollywood

There’s something magical about present-day Hollywood (the place), for visitors and residents alike. More than almost anywhere else, it’s a city of dreamers, all trying to “make it” and achieve their loftiest goals.

In Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, the city is much the same, even decades ago during the entertainment industry’s Golden Age. Part of the charm of this series is the cast of relative newcomers, themselves each playing characters trying to breakthrough in the industry.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ryan Murphy show without some of the big stars, in this series notably Dylan McDermott, Holland Taylor, Jim Parsons, Darren Criss, and Patti Lupone stars as some of the industry gatekeepers and veterans.

The newcomers to the scene, and who, in my opinion, have really thrown themselves in the ring as up-and-coming stars, are Laura Harrier, Jeremy Pope, Samara Weaving, David Corenswet, and Jake Picking.

Hollywood is a series in which the characters are more compelling than the actual storyline, although my favorite storyline involves Harrier’s Camille and Weaving’s Claire, both fighting for the same leading role.

Not to give too many spoilers away, I will say Hollywood does a nice job of subverting the typical narrative and many of the characters actually do end up achieving their dreams, although sometimes it’s not all they hoped it would be.

The series wracked up an impressive 12 Emmy nominations, including four in the acting categories, and though it’s a limited series I for one, would not be opposed to seeing more of these characters’ stories.

6. Defending Jacob

Defending Jacob was the first series I saw this year that I felt compelled to binge all in one sitting. Did I? No, but it was thrilling and engaging enough that I found myself watching in three or four episode sprints as opposed to savoring it.

AppleTV+ launched with a ton of content created with some of the biggest names in television and film, and Defending Jacob was no different. Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery star as the titular character’s parents, and the story is just as much theirs as it is Jacob’s.

Half murder mystery, half family drama, Defending Jacob tests the limits of parental love and had one of the craziest twist endings I saw on TV this year. All eight episodes will keep you on the edge of your seat and second-guessing each character until the very end.

7. Little Fires Everywhere

I’m a sucker for a good Resse Witherspoon produced series. Her production company has done a wonderful job of elevating women’s voices in the creative industry and has played some part in some of the biggest projects of the past five years.

Little Fires Everywhere is no exception. Witherspoon pairs this time with Kerry Washington, in a family drama that looks at the effects of race and privilege in suburban Ohio.

Washington’s storyline as Mia Warren, a single mother to daughter Pearl, played by a new star to watch, Lexi Underwood, is the most interesting portion of the series.

There’s also an episode featuring flashbacks for both leading ladies, in which Tiffany Boone plays a young Kerry Washington. Boone matches Washington to the smallest microexpression and is one of the most fascinating, impressive performances I’ve ever seen.

The pair’s dynamic with Witherspoon’s Richardson family is rocky at best, and deep-seated issues from their mysterious past. The season both ends and begins with a house fire, and as the title suggests, there are really little fires that ignite and extinguish throughout the series’ run.

As a viewer who had already read the book the series was adapted from, there were certain major plot points that I did see coming, but watching with somebody who was blissfully unaware kept me excited for all of the twists and turns the show threw out.

And though I did know the overall arc for each character, there were some pleasant surprises and plot points that mixed it up in the eight-episodes that kept me on my toes!

8. The Undoing

Like Tiger King this spring, The Undoing took the pop culture world by storm this fall, due, in part, to Nicole Kidman and her extravagant coats. Now, what murder suspect in their right-mind would attract more attention to themselves by wearing bright green? I’m not sure.

Incredible fashion aside, HBO’s limited drama is another story adapted from a novel, this time a thrilling murder mystery. The Undoing storyline sucks you in so quickly that I found myself wanting to read the book in between episodes just to find out “who did it.”

I stuck it out, in the end, and tuned in week-over-week to see where Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant’s Grace and Jonathan Fraser would end up. In the words of SNL’s Stefon, “this series had everything.”

There’s lying, stalking, murder, false accusations, classism, violins, the aforementioned extravagant coats, and The Hunger Games’ President Snow himself, Donald Sutherland. Though I watched weekly, I have no doubt The Undoing would be an easy six-episode binge.

The finale is an especially thrilling hour of television, culminating in a heart-racing conclusion, and teaching watchers that you don’t ever f*ck with Nicole Kidman.

9. Normal People

Another series based on a book, Normal People is less whodunnit and thrilling than many of the other shows on my list, but no less captivating. Based in Ireland, Normal People details the lives of Marianne and Connel, starting as secondary students.

Drawn together like magnets, and being a sort of comfort blanket for each other, Marianne and Connell orbit in and out of each other’s lives throughout University. Their social dynamic flips multiple times, but somehow the pair never stray far from one another.

Fair warning: there are a lot of sex scenes throughout the 12 episode series, so keep that in mind if you plan to start a new show with your family!

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, newcomers and the two leads are a duo to keep your eyes on and have already been cast in upcoming major projects after their critically acclaimed performances in the Hulu series.

Though the book’s author, Sally Rooney, who also wrote the show, wrote the novel as a stand-alone piece, I would love to see more from these characters, especially with how the open-ended final episode left the pair.

10. The Queen’s Gambit

Okay, so who knew chess would have a moment in 2020? We really should have seen it coming, with how much time we’ve collectively spent indoors this year. While puzzles were so April, the checkered board game took the spotlight this fall because of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.

Again, based on a novel, the series follows Beth Harmon (played by the incredible Anya Taylor-Joy), a chess prodigy, from her youth as an orphan, to adult, making a name for herself as a grandmaster (that’s like pro-level in the chess world) in a sport traditionally dominated by men.

For a game heavily based on predicting outcomes and being very disciplined with your technique, there’s a surprising amount of creativity that occurs in each chess match. Beth’s love affair with chess begins in the orphanage and is assisted by some pretty heavy narcotics.

The trend continues throughout her young adult life, as she begins swiping prescription pills from her adopted mother, and dabbling in alcohol under her mother’s alcoholic tendencies. The Queen’s Gambit could have easily turned Beth’s story into a dark tragedy, but subverting the narrative served the seven-episode drama well.

Beth’s relationship with her adoptive mother, the multi-hyphenate Marielle Heller, could have turned sour, but instead, the pair became friendly companions, leaning on each other once Beth’s adoptive father leaves the picture.

Following her adoptive mother’s passing, the story could have decided it would be Beth’s downfall. Instead, she continues on her journey, just as determined. Beth is by no means the perfect protagonist. She’s an addict, and at times self-destructive.

She doesn’t wallow in her misfortune though and doesn’t allow her past to define her, in something I think could have been very easy for her character to do. Her band of misfits, the other chess grandmasters, many of them her paramours, comes together to support their queen.

As a former chess club kid myself, it was fascinating to go so in-depth into a scene that we don’t see play out on screen very often. Anya Taylor-Joy and the rest of the cast and crew of The Queen’s Gambit deserve every award and accolade that is sure to come their way.

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As much as I love a good 30-minute comedy to mindlessly watch, sometimes it’s an attention-grabbing drama that I really crave. If you’re like me, and can’t commit to a 20+ episode run (Grey’s Anatomy is my exception!!), the limited series is the way to go.

Which of these series was your favorite this year? Or if I missed yours, let me know which one below!

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