It’s kind of unsurprising to see creators put more stake into the limited series format. Gone are the days where stories need comprehension, or six seasons and a movie; audiences now understand the difference between quality and quantity and often chose the former. Limited series tell episodic tales, where the beginning, middle and end is concise and never dragged out.
We are currently experiencing the new golden age of limited series. And as with audiences, these shows are resonating strongly with critics too. Reaching consensus among reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes are a bunch of rare limited series. Their 100% rating is testament to the fact that they are perfectly executed and stick the landing to the delight of everyone.
Limited series only have so much time to develop their characters, weave intricate plots and also deliver satisfying conclusions. And yet some achieve unanimous critical acclaim. In this list, we’ve rounded up titles with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, because television can’t get any fresher than this.
10 The Defiant Ones (2017)
Filmed over a period of three years by director Allen Hughes, The Defiant Ones is a four-part limited series that profiles the unbreakable bond between music icons Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and how their friendship revolutionized pop culture. Both their careers began differently and they rose to fame with their edgy and provocative music. The former started the Beats brand and the latter founded Interscope Records.
A Story About Partnership
Hughes tries to explore the creative process and business acumen that went into shaping the music industry into what it is today through this unconventional biography that is both introspective and entertaining. Much like its subjects. The candid interviews and real-life footage makes viewers invested in Dre and lovine’s underdog story. It’s not really surprising that The Defiant Ones has a 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
9 The Asunta Case (2024)
After their 12-year-old adopted daughter Asunta suddenly disappears, Roasario Porto and Alfonso Basterra report it to the police, who file a missing person’s case. The investigation begins, but the more inconsistencies and lies emerge in the parents’ statements, the quicker they become main suspects. When Asunta’s corpse is found on a road near Santiago de Compostela, the tragic plot thickens.
Deconstructs Complex Truths
Told through multiple perspectives, The Asunta Case plays out like a puzzle that pieces together courtroom audio, interviews, and evidence to understand a family’s dark secret and uncover the shocking truth. Based on the real-life murder of Asunta Basterra, this Spanish-language thriller stars Candela Peña and Tristán Ulloa, who maintain a sensitive balance in their discussions, which revolve around justice and culpability. Overall, the series is an impactful watch for true-crime lovers.
8 Time: The Kalief Browder Story (2017)
Time: The Kalief Browder Story is a gut-wrenching documentary series that recounts the tragic story of Kalief Browder, who was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack and was thrown into New York’s infamous Rikers Island jail without ever receiving a trial. Of the three years he spent inside, two were endured in solitary confinement. When the charges were dropped and Browder was released, he was so psychologically shattered that he later took his own life.
A Heartbreaking Exploration of Injustice
Directed by Jenner Furst, the limited series honors Kalief Browder’s memory as a boy who became a symbol for justice system reform. His story is supposed to inspire and enrage people enough to want to put an end to the false guilty-until-proven-innocent way of thinking. Told through archival interviews from close friends and social reformers, as well as first-person accounts of those directly associated with the case, Time: The Kalief Browder Story stands as an important watch.
Related: 9 Netflix Original Movies and TV Shows With 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
7 Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (2018)
Painful and powerful, this limited series dives into the tragedy of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American high school student, who was fatally shot in 2012 while visiting a friend in the Sanford neighborhood in Florida. His killer, George Zimmerman, was later acquitted of murder charges as per Florida's Stand Your Ground Law. This sparked outrage and led to a massive social media moment in the United States.
Creates Empathetic Portrait of a Nationwide Movement
Issues like racial profiling, gun laws, and whether or not justice has truly been served in a case have long been discussed in media, both real and televised. But Jenner Furst crafts a tribute so sensitive that it’s hard to look away from. The directors so skillfully blended interviews of family and friends with the in-depth examination of the trail, that the one thing that poignantly emerged out of the six hour-long episodes was honoring Martin’s life and legacy.
6 Murder on Middle Beach (2020)
In Murder on Middle Beach, first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg returns to where he grew up – a quiet neighborhood in Madison, Connecticut, which is also where his mother was found murdered. Hamburg begins his own investigation, digging deeper with local detectives, talking to the townsfolk to understand his parents’ marriage, and his mother’s relationship with her sister, Conway. The more he pieces together her final days, the more shocking discoveries he makes about her death.
A Profoundly Personal Cold Case
Murder on Middle Beach started as a student film Hamburg was making while he was in college. Throughout the four episodes, he maintains an insightful hand, where visions are drawn mainly from the emotional core of a son’s need for answers about what happened the day his mother was violently murdered. While the killer’s identity remained unknown, critics praised the docuseries for providing a glimpse into how unsolved crimes can haunt people for decades.
5 The Innocence Files (2020)
Released on Netflix in 2020, The Innocence Files is a true crime documentary miniseries inspired by the work done by the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization made of lawyers and investigators committed to overturning wrongful convictions that stem from mistaken witness testimonies, flawed examinations, and official misconduct. Each episode of the series follows a different case that exonerates innocent individuals.
An Organization's Fight for Justice
The directors of The Innocence Films skillfully weave together the untold personal stories of individuals with court transcripts and present-day interviews to craft a binge-worthy true crime experience. The limited series has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which it earns by offering suspenseful twists and fascinating cases of reforming and batting a dysfunctional justice system.
4 Free Meek (2019)
Free Meek is a thought-provoking limited series about rapper Meek Mill and his controversial legal journey as he struggles to overturn a decades-old conviction that stemmed from minor drug charges. Even after serving time, Meek remains under restrictive probation and returns to prison repeatedly after breaking parole while being overseen by a judge with a personal vendetta against him and a case filled with corruption.
When One Man Beats the Odds
With the help of Jay-Z, CNN commentator Van Jones, and Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory, Meek’s case sparked national discussion, leaving the public to raise their voices against systematic inequalities. The five-episode series does an excellent job at documenting the same, taking viewers inside the personal challenges faced by Meek throughout the decade, and humanizing him beyond the entertainer people know him as.
3 Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (2020)
Directed by Cecilia Peck, Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult aired on Starz in 2020. It consists of four episodes, each of which examine the inner workings of NXIVM, a cult that masqueraded as a self-help group, through the eyes of India Oxenberg. She was one of the thousands of followers led by Keith Raniere, unknowingly groomed through workshops and manipulated into ceremonies. Along with Oxenberg, other former members speak out as well, revealing alarming details about the cult.
Shocking Exposure of Manipulation and Control
Peck’s tone is comprehensive and unflinching; she interviews courageous survivors and constructs a sobering documentary miniseries about mind control. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, where the series holds an approval rating of 100 percent, declares it as “a harrowing account of the startling ease with which a cult can consume a person's life.” Unsettling as it may be for some, Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult is also an important watch.
Related: 20 Short and Suspenseful Docuseries Perfect for Bingeing
2 The Lady and the Dale (2021)
During the 1970s, Elizabeth Carmichael, an auto entrepreneur, dreamed up a revolutionary three-wheeled car, “The Dale,” which was a fuel-efficient automobile. A solution to America’s oil dependence. As Liz and her car company took the world by storm and demanded attention, questions about her business legitimacy emerged. The series is basically about innovation and the power of believing in oneself.
Liz's Story of Grit and Individuality
By combining historical footage and candid interviews, The Lady and the Dale tells Liz’s unique journey with humor, empathy and respect. It also focuses on the colorful characters that surround her, their role in highlighting her indomitable spirit in the face of prejudice, and her surprising past. Based on 19 reviews, the series holds a 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a consensus that reads: “The Lady and the Dale is a wild ride.”
1 No One Saw a Thing (2019)
In the sleepy Missouri town of Skidmore, Ken Rex McElroy, a town bully feared-by-all, is shot dead one evening. Even though there were over 60 people surrounding him at the time of his death, all eye witnesses, no one came forward with any information about who pulled the trigger. A federal investigation ensues and the tight-knit community's complicated code of silence leads to more violent killings.
When Small Towns Keep Secrets
To this day, no one in Skidmore has broken their silence around the 1984 killing. No One Saw a Thing not only examines how far the residents are willing to go to protect one another, but also how the town’s next generation is rattled by an increasing rate of criminal activity. Combining present-day interrogations with dramatized scenes of the past, the limited series offers a riveting look into a community that has become the cause of its own downfall.
