Season three, episode nineteen… Season seven, episode five… Season twelve, episode fifteen… Season thirty four, episode twenty…
It’s hard to keep track of every series you follow. Especially American network channels know their ways with series that have twenty two episodes per season and can continue for fifteen seasons sometimes. Luckily you can switch to another concept: miniseries. Just one story, six episodes and then you’re ready. Or maybe you like anthology? Every season or episode a new story. 2016 was a good year for miniseries and anthologies.
With the upcoming adaptation of The Dark Tower and the IT remake, this would be a good moment to look back at works based on Stephen King’s books. After Under The Dome, which was cancelled in 2015, can be declared a very big disappointment, the next year had a big hit. 11.22.63 turned out to be a success and is our first nominee.
After they had a few flops, HBO’s Golden Age seemed to end, but our second nominee, The Night Of, was right in the bull’s eye. The story about a student suspected of murder and his lawyer was acclaimed by critics and it got very good ratings.
Sometimes you already have the right material, but you want to put a more contemporary coat around it. This year A&E, History and Lifetime decided to make a new version of the critically lauded miniseries Roots from 1977. This version of the story about slavery also received a lot of positive commentary, positive enough to become our third nominee.
On our side of the Atlantic Ocean there was also enough to enjoy. The BBC adapted a classic Russian story that had been adapted countless times. War And Peace is based on Tolstoy’s 1805 novel of the same name and started in January. The cinematography is modern, the production values are what we expect from every BBC series and the story is still engaging.
Can the first series of The Missing be exceeded? Certainly. The brothers and writers Harry and Jack Williams wrote a new story that was equally exciting as teh frist season, one of BBC’s big successes in 2014. Those same brothers came up with a new project this year: One Of Us. The story about revenge and a mourning family was well received by critics, the audience and me. The four hours it cost me to watch were four of the better hours of 2016.
In our next nominated miniseries, Loki from the Marvel movies is involved in an undercover mission with a dangerous arms dealer, and this dealer is Dr. House. Huh? Loki and Dr. House? The Night Manager has attracted a stellar cast and this pays off. The exciting and contemporary storyline isn’t the worst too.
There’s a lot of crime in America. This is very unfortunate, but it gives creators of crime series enough inspiration for good television. The first season of American Crime Story was, for example, the big winner during the Emmy Awards, and American Crime does not do worse either.
In the end we have project that is very bizarre but successful. The anthology series Black Mirror returned to Netflix after an absence of almost two years. Every episode the show experiments with human behaviour and the role of media and technology. It is bizarre, but succeeds to capture the human soul.
The choice is yours: what is the best miniseries of anthology series of 2016? Recapping, in this category you can vote for:
11.22.63
The Night Of
Roots
War & Peace
The Missing
One Of Us
The Night Manager
American Crime Story
American Crime
Black Mirror
Good luck with voting!
