The 10 best limited series to finish within a weekend
No matter how much we wish we could turn back time and keep our patience intact for shows that run through seasons, year after year, the truth is: times have changed. While there are still 24 hours in a day, viewers don’t exactly have their everyday to spare on a Netflix show that’s been on for a decade.
Of course, there are exceptions, like Stranger Things. Even with that, the fan frustration of having to wait so long and retain memories of what happened in Hawkins three years ago, was complementary.
So, when we talk about limited series or miniseries, the intrigue is organic, but the reasons are one too many. Firstly, there’s no need to wait for follow-up seasons. Secondly, you can easily finish them within a day, if not, within a weekend.
Most importantly, even though they are far more compact in length, they’re no less fascinating than shows that run for a longer period of time. There are many on Netflix to prove the same, but here are the 10 best limited series to finish within this weekend.
The 10 best limited series to finish within a weekend
Who Were We Running From? (Netflix Original Production, 2023)
The best part about thrillers is the search for answers. And Who Were We Running From? begins with quite a few crucial questions. The Turkish thriller series follows an unnamed woman, always dressed in black and her wide-eyed daughter, Bambi, who are always on the move. While Bambi’s mother is suspicious of anyone and everyone she meets, some part of that fear is rooted in the anxiety and apprehension that someone’s out to get them.
Although they’ve always been on run, the stays are quite luxe, to say the least. Neither do they stay in the same palatial hotel twice, nor are they ever out of cash or clothes. But it’s not just Bambi’s mother who’s suspicious of everything. Hotel staff and the cops have their eyes on the duo, and the fact that the body bags are piling up in numbers doesn’t help their case either.
As You Stood By (Lee Jeong-rim, 2025)
The South Korean slate of productions on Netflix has again launched a gripping new adaptation, As You Stood By, based on Hideo Okuda’s 2014 novel, Naomi and Kanako. The Netflix original limited series tells the story of two childhood friends, Eun-su and Hui-su, whose past and present are connected with a thread of unrelenting trauma.
Eun-su grew up in a household where domestic abuse was the norm, but the only reason she survived it all? Hui-su, who saved her from a suicide attempt. While Eun-su has grown up to find the better things in life awaiting her, time hasn’t been easy on her best friend. Hui-su’s married life has been quite a replica of Eun-su’s parents’, and it’s up to them to end the cycle of trauma once and for all.
Red Rose (Ramon Salazar, Henry Blake, and Lisa Siwe, 2022)
School life teaches us a lot, but nothing really helps the angst that comes with finishing school and the start of university life. Red Rose on Netflix is a horror limited series revolving around a group of school leavers who expect to make the most of their last carefree summer before heading off to their respective universities for higher studies.
The plans, however, soon come crumbling down when they all download an app called “Red Rose,” which makes evil demands from the teens, leaving them constantly on the doorstep of uncertain dangers. While it raises the question of whether it’s possible to simply ignore the demands, it turns out that when the tasks go incomplete, they have even more perilous repercussions.
Dynamite Kiss (Kim Jae-hyun, 2025)
Holidays are nothing without rom-coms that add the festive spark. So, Netflix recently released something rather captivating for those seeking titles to watch under the mistletoe: Dynamite Kiss. The ongoing limited series tells the story of a woman, Go Da-rim, who secures a job at a baby products company under Gong Ji-hyeok, her team leader, by lying about her marital status.
During an accidental encounter on a trip, they both end up kissing, complicating their already complex dynamic. But the primary conflict begins when both find themselves involved in a forbidden office romance, with Ji-hyeok still unaware of the secrets Go Da-rim holds close to her chest.
When They See Us (Ava DuVernay, 2019)
When They See Us on Netflix is based on the real events of the Central Park jogger case in April 1989, when five Black and Latino male suspects were falsely accused and prosecuted on charges surrounding the rape and assault case of a woman in Central Park, Manhattan, New York. The series centres on the lives of the five suspects and their families in the aftermath of the spine-chilling incident.
The limited series explores the consequences the formerly accused had to shoulder until their conviction was vacated in 2002, when a man came out, confessing his role in the crime. He claimed to have acted alone, which led The Central Park Five to file a lawsuit against the city for wrongful conviction a year later.
Love & Death (Lesli Linka Glatter and Clark Johnson, 2023)
In a sweeping showcase of limited series, Netflix recently added a terrific one, Love & Death, which originally premiered on HBO Max in 2023. Based on the real case of Candy Montgomery, Betty Gore, and Betty’s husband, Allan Gore, the crime thriller recounts the story of a marital affair gone horribly wrong.
Love & Death revisits the true story of Candy, who was accused of murdering her friend, Betty Gore. As shown in the series, Candy was involved in an affair with Betty’s husband, Allan, while Betty was pregnant with her second child. The affair didn’t last long after she gave birth, but when Betty chose to confront Candy in her husband’s absence, an irrevocable crime did occur, shaking up the quaint Texas town.
The Billion Dollar Code (Robert Thalheim, 2021)
The Billion Dollar Code navigates dual timelines, revisiting the real-life legal battle after two German computer engineers alleged Google Earth was behind the theft of their TerraVision program. The plot unfolds in two timelines, showcasing the ambitious art-tech scene in Berlin, while shifting the focus to the present day at the courtroom fight against the tech tycoon.
While the Netflix series goes to an extent to dramatise the David vs Goliath story, with just four episodes, The Billion Dollar Code really fits the bill of a weekend watch.
Dispatches from Elsewhere (Jason Segel, 2020)
Netflix’s limited series catalogue always hits home. However, now that it is also home to a handful of miniseries that don’t hail from its original productions, viewers must pay attention. Earlier this week, the platform brought Dispatches from Elsewhere to the library, and if you’re craving a limited series for the weekend, this one might just be it.
Set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dispatches from Elsewhere follows four seemingly ordinary people whose lives are connected, thanks to a mysterious game that serves as an escape from their mundane lives. But the deeper they dig into the cryptic clues and riddles they find all over the place, the more they run out of explanations as their lives get more and more interconnected each and every day.
Death by Lightning (Matt Ross, 2025)
When it comes to political thrillers, no one really comes par with Netflix. But if you still have doubts, go check out Mike Makowsky’s Death by Lightning this weekend. The Netflix limited series is based on Candice Millard’s 2011 book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President.
Death by Lightning tells the stranger-than-fiction story based on the extraordinary life and death of the 20th president of the United States, James Garfield, and that of his assassin, who also happened to be one of his greatest admirers, Charles Guiteau.
Maledictions (Daniel Burman, 2025)
Lastly, to end the limited series marathon, we have another thriller, Maledictions, which walks a thin line between political responsibilities and personal duties. The limited series revolves around Governor Fernando, whose daughter has been abducted by one of his trusted aides and associates during a critical vote on lithium mining.
While the situation already puts Fernando under immense pressure, it turns out the motivations driving the kidnapping are rooted far in the Governor’s past, which has the potential to unravel many lives at a time. Hence, Fernando must choose between his political ambitions and his family because, regardless of his skills in diplomacy, the situation demands him to think on his toes.