The 10 best limited series to finish within a weekend
Ever since the limited series format graced our screens, life has become increasingly easier than before. Netflix users can now comfortably get lost in the world of entertainment without the demand of whole-hearted commitment for months, which can often extend to years, standing in the way of their ever-growing, busy schedules.
The streaming phenomenon has evolved in several ways in the last decade as platforms constantly come up with new innovative ideas to make showbiz more user-friendly.
In fact, the short-format releases have become a revelation of a kind, drawing viewers more and more as the catalogue expands with every minute. Weekends have always been holy for being the perfect time to unwind with a popcorn bucket and shows that hit home.
But since the festive mood calls for a bit more than just five picks, here are the 10 best limited series to watch on Netflix that ask for nothing more than a weekend of patience.
The 10 best limited series to finish within a weekend
Alias Grace (Mary Harron, 2017)
Netflix adaptations have always been a risky territory. Sometimes they hit the right chord, while at other times, they tend to fall flat on their faces. But the latter is definitely not the case with Alias Grace, based on Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel, as well as a true story. The Netflix limited series fictionalises the story of an Irish immigrant servant, Grace Marks, who was convicted of a double homicide in Victorian-era Canada.
While she remains imprisoned for 15 years, Grace alleges a loss of memory about the events that turned her life upside down. Alias Grace primarily focuses on her conversations and interactions with psychiatrist Dr Jordan, who’s brought in to jog her memory for research on her case, hoping he determines her mental state.
The Perfect Couple (Susanne Bier, 2024)
Everybody loves a big fat wedding. But what happens when a sudden death spirals the anticipation into bloody chaos? The Perfect Couple is a Netflix adaptation that follows a luxurious wedding at a Nantucket estate. However, the celebration soon comes to a horrific halt when the maid of honour is murdered on the morning of the big day.
Weddings usually call for a heart-warming gathering of friends, families, and guests. But The Perfect Couple on Netflix reduces each and every one to a suspect. It’s safe to say that nothing is what it seems, and no one is really pitch-perfect despite the nearly convincing façade.
Baby Reindeer (Weonika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch, 2024)
Ever thought of an act of kindness that ends up being a nightmare in living? If not, watch Baby Reindeer, a black comedy thriller limited series that will leave you on the edge at all times. Based on creator Richard Gadd’s autobiographical one-man show, the Netflix adaptation follows a budding comedian who is also a bartender at a London pub.
Amid the hullabaloo of the pub scenario, one fine day, he catches a sobbing customer, to whom he offers a free cup of tea to make her mood light, not giving his gesture much of a thought. But the customer ends up being a stalker who makes his life a living hell as the toll of the stalking casts a shadow in every way. Although one of the more controversial entries in Netflix’s library, Baby Reindeer remains a pioneer example of the genre for several reasons.
Transatlantic (Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond, and Mia Meyer, 2023)
Although a historical drama, Transatlantic also serves as an adaptation, based on Julie Orringer’s The Flight Portfolio. The Netflix miniseries is inspired by the true story of an American Rescue Committee team that operated in 1940s Marseille, France, which assisted in getting over 2,000 refugees to flee the Nazis.
Transatlantic revolves around the tedious process of this smuggling mission, which required massive funds, ensuring a safe pathway, and also forging documents that erase their previous identities. With just seven episodes, it tells the story of an era that offers plenty of historical insight, transporting viewers to a world they had only read about so far.
The Queen’s Gambit (Scott Frank, 2020)
Netflix’s limited series template has truly changed the streaming game altogether, and every title selected so far is on a benchmark of its own, including the critically acclaimed The Queen’s Gambit. Set between the mid-1950s and 1960s, the Netflix adaptation revolves around the life of chess prodigy Beth Harmon.
The Queen’s Gambit follows the fictional character’s ascent in the world of chess as a competitor whom everyone looks up to. But underneath the genius, she is a person who struggles with heavy liquor and drug problems, who eventually overcomes it all to give her professional life the priority it deserves.
Maid (Molly Smith Metzler, 2021)
It has been four years since Molly Smith Metzler breathed life into Stephanie Land’s inspirational memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, into the limited series, Maid on Netflix. Yet, the impact it left years ago has barely diluted, even amidst the constant streaming influx the platform witnesses daily.
The emotional drama series follows a young mother, Alex, who gathers enough courage to leave her abusive relationship and start anew as a maid cleaning houses for Value Maids for the sake of her young daughter while grappling with her own dysfunctional family. While she confronts her hardships head-on, she also doesn’t give up on her dreams of securing a better future, making it the perfect underdog story for the weekends when you’re stuck in a downer.
From Scratch (Attica and Tembi Locke, 2022)
If you’re looking for something that has a heart and is an emotional minefield, don’t skip From Scratch. The Netflix series revolves around the love story between an American woman and a Sicilian chef, and the unimaginable challenges they confront while sharing their lives with each other during his tragic cancer diagnosis.
From Scratch is a love story that explores the coming together of two distinctly vast cultures and families that end up being a roadmap for navigating tough realities. While on the surface level it’s a romance drama, once you wrap up the marathon, you’ll understand why it is actually so much more.
Bodies (Marco Kreuzpaintner and Haolu Wang, 2023)
Not everything in the world is within the mortal grasp. And sci-fi titles usually capitalise on the unknown. But even though the genre has been greatly explored time and again, a unique premise like that of Bodies remains as rare as it possibly could. The eccentric mystery thriller on Netflix revolves around the sudden appearance of a mysterious dead body in Longharvest Lane in the Whitechapel region of London.
But it’s not just the naked corpse that’s a mystery. Surprisingly, the same dead body appears in the exact same location in four different years – 1890, 1941, 2023, 2053 – making Bodies a gripping narrative of investigation across four timelines led by four different detectives who eventually find themselves entwined.
Apple Cider Vinegar (Jeffrey Walker, 2025)
In the digital age, everything should come with a warning that people shouldn’t believe everything they read and see on the Internet. But unfortunately, they don’t, plunging followers into an online society of make-believe that slowly becomes poison. Apple Cider Vinegar is camped in a similar story of modern horror, set in the early days of Instagram, revolving around two young women on a mission to influence and cure their life-threatening ailments with wellness remedies.
The only difference is that although their community of followers trust the two with eyes blindfolded, none of their illnesses are actually true. Although the Netflix limited series is rooted in real-life inspirations, it is considered a work of fiction.
Adolescence (Philip Barantini, 2025)
To end the limited series marathon, it’s impossible not to circle back to the Netflix show that made the most noise this Emmy season, the hard-hitting psychological crime drama, Adolescence. The Emmy-winning show revolves around 13-year-old Jamie Miller and the Miller family after the teenager is arrested on the charge of murdering a female classmate.
Adolescence explores the impact of this unimaginable crime on the family as they are thrown under the bus of the criminal justice system, while offering a biting social commentary on the influence of toxic masculinity and online radicalisation. It’s not an easy watch, and it’s never meant to be. But it’s an important watch from the catalogue of Netflix miniseries that will make you introspect beyond the surface.