Had a crap day at work? Again? We’ve all been there. But instead of glazing at your computer screen into the wee hours trying to write that reply email you’re never going to send, turn your work brain off, settle down, and let yourself get taken away for a while.
As we tried to impress upon you last week as well, there’s nothing like a great mini or limited series—one story, start to finish, nothing to catch up on—to whisk you away. And whether your escape hatch is a mystery to sink your teeth into, Greek gods behaving badly, a bit of time travel, a slice of American history you slept through in school, or a proper fright, these five Netflix miniseries streaming in the U.S. are ranked to help you choose.
5
Bodkin
Will Forte and a true-crime podcast that goes badly wrong
It doesn’t always take a critical darling to take your mind off things, and Bodkin is proof. But this seven-episode black comedy, which sits at a modest 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, has a secret weapon that I will bite at every time—Will Forte. Add a dry Irish sense of humor, and slainte!
Gilbert Power (Forte) is an American true-crime podcaster in some financial hot water, who arrives in the fictional West Cork town of Bodkin convinced he’s found his next hit show—three people vanished during a Halloween festival 25 years ago, and the town is finally bringing it back. His researcher, Emmy (Robyn Cara, Trying), is a keener; Dove (Siobhán Cullen, Highlander reboot) is a hardened journalist reluctantly along for the ride, has no time for podcasts, and thinks there’s something dark happening in the secretive town. Everything gets answered by the finale, and there’s no season two coming, making for a tidy watch.
Bodkin
Release Date
2024 – 2024-00-00
Writers
Jez Scharf
4
Kaos
Greek gods behaving very, very badly
Jeff Goldblum on his own is enough of a distraction from a rough day, but here we see him as we never have before—a vengeful Zeus in a tracksuit grappling with the end of his reign and angry at the ungrateful humans below who’ve lost their faith in the gods.
Written by Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World), Kaos is a darkly funny modern take on Greek mythology where gods behave like needy celebrities. Meanwhile, on Earth below, there are three mortals who have quietly become key players in a prophecy that will bring the gods to their knees. Apart from the excellent Goldblum, David Thewlis (the Harry Potter films’ Remus Lupin) is fantastic as Hades, and MobLand’s Janet McTeer is great as the scheming Hera. The 77%-fresh series ran eight episodes—before Netflix canceled it, so the story stops rather than ends.
Kaos
Release Date
2024 – 2024-00-00
Directors
Georgi Banks-Davies, Runyararo Mapfumo
Writers
Charlie Covell, Georgia Christou
3
11.22.63
James Franco tries to save Kennedy in this time travel thriller
Here’s some streaming trivia to go with this one—Stephen King’s 11.22.63 was among Hulu’s earliest original series; it left and made its way to Netflix in the U.S. this past January. If you missed it back in 2016, you’re out of excuses. And you won’t be disappointed.
Imagine there was a quaint diner in your hometown, let’s say Maine, but through a closet in the back is, oh, I don’t know, a time portal that drops you into 1960—the same day, every time. What would you do with it? Al (Chris Cooper, Adaptation) has spent years using it to try to stop the Kennedy assassination (obviously), but with cancer nipping at his heels, he’s run out of time to keep trying. Luckily, he hands the job to Jake Epping (James Franco, Pineapple Express), a divorced high school English teacher with nothing to lose. Jake has three years to prepare for the event, but every time he tries to make a change, weird and violent things start happening.
11.22.63
Release Date
2016 – 2016-00-00
Showrunner
James Franco
Directors
Kevin Macdonald, James Franco, Frederick E.O. Toye, James Strong, John David Coles
2
Death by Lightning
A stacked cast and short, sweet escapism
If you’re looking for a miniseries with a cast stacked full of Emmy-winning (some recent) and Oscar-nominated actors, here it is—Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Nick Offerman (who was nominated for this show), Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford and Shea Whigham, all packed within four episodes of this historical drama about, yes, another presidential assassination.
Shannon plays James Garfield, the reluctant president most slept through in school, and Macfadyen is Charles Guiteau, the unhinged and delusional political climber who decided the White House owed him a job. When he’s repeatedly rejected by the political world he desperately wants to be a part of, he figures that removing Garfield will get him the position he desires. Death By Lightning is based on Candice Millard’s nonfiction account of the whole strange business, with Game of Thrones’ creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss producing. It’s 90% fresh, and Offerman’s permanently soused Chester Arthur.
1
The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe with a body count
I do love a good horror title to scare the bad day out of me. This one is my top pick, and it earns it. Writer-director Mike Flanagan doesn’t so much adapt Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short story here as raid him, layering pieces of a dozen stories into one modern dynasty. The Fall of the House of Usher feels like Succession, but way, way darker.
Roderick Usher (the great Bruce Greenwood, Star Trek, The Core) and his twin sister Madeline (Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica) built their Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an opioid empire. But as we learn, time is up for Roderick, as something dark from his past starts picking off all six of his entitled adult children one by one, each gruesome death lifted from a different Poe story. Carla Gugino (my favorite!) drifts through the eight episodes as Verna, a brooding, shapeshifting specter from the twins’ past. And Mark Hamill is unrecognizable as the family’s loyal fixer. It’s 91% fresh and utterly fantastic.
Clock out and press play
Whether your fix is a podcaster out of his depth in rural Ireland or a pharmaceutical dynasty collapsing one Poe story at a time, all five will transport you from your crappy day quickly, and with zero commitment.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Live TV
No
Price
Starting at $8/month
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.