The Top Ten (new or first season) Miniseries I Watched in 2019

As with just about everyone else, my viewing habits and preferences have shifted gradually away from movies (and movie theaters) and ever more toward streaming miniseries, which offer so many great opportunities to develop character, plot, and milieu over the course of multiple episodes and multiple seasons. Plus, they're so accessible. Here is the list, arranged alphabetically of the Top 10 (New or first season) Miniseries I Watched in 2019:

A French Village (2009). The first (of 9) seasons newly available this year on Prime, this completely engrossing and often frightening drama brings us into a small and seemingly typical village in rural France, not far from the Swiss border, at the outset of the Occupation (1940) and presumably in subsequent seasons taking us through the course of the War and its aftermath.

Chernobyl (2019): Most of us probably have no idea of the magnitude of the catastrophe of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl nor of how it could have been even more serious and disastrous but for the brave actions of a few scientists and many other workers at or near the plan; this HBO 4-part miniseries does a great job bringing the tension of days during and after the meltdown to light. 

Criminal (2019). This 12-part series from Netflix is a terrific project of high ambition, which consists of four sets of three dramas, each set from a different European country and using the same parameters: a 40-minute police interrogation of a suspect in a tightly confined setting. 

Escape at Dannemora (2019). This Ben Stiller-directed 7-episode miniseries from Showtime is a terrific prison movie, based closely the famous prison breakout in a remote New York locale, with exceptionally strong performances not only by the leads - Patricia Arquett, Benicio del Toro, and Paul Dana - but also from just about all of the secondary players.

Les Miserables (2018). This 6-part BBC/PBS English-language miniseries of Hugo's novel (2018) does a fine job presenting the highlights of the sinuous narrative, cutting this enormous text down to a fairly simple period piece, love story, and melodrama that follows the course of the eventful life of Jean Valjean (Dominic West).

Made in Heaven (2019). This Indian 9-episode series on Prime about a team of wedding planners who cater to the wealthiest of Delhi society at first seems as if it's an escapee from the Bravo channel, but we quickly see that it's far more than a lifestyles of the rich fantasy indulgence: There's a terrific and compelling through story that makes us think of the class structure in India and all that it still entails.

Mrs. Wilson (2018). This surprisingly good 3-part series on PBS depicts events are so odd that we wouldn't believe them in a fictional narrative - but the series depicts actual events in the life of the grandmother of the star of the show, Rita Wilson; the series moves gracefully across a few time spans, gradually filling in the picture of an entire life, it will keep you thinking and guessing and wondering right to the startling closing sequence.

Succession (2019). This 10-part HBO series portrays a dysfunctional, uber-wealthy. loathsome family, based loosely, or maybe not so loosely, on the Murdoch clan and its right-wing media empire; this show is well written and well acted by a large ensemble, each family member with a distinct personality and neuroses.

The Honourable Woman (2014). This series (for rent only) has to rank as one of the most intelligent and best-acted shows I've seen recently, a totally gripping story start to finish about a sister (Maggie Gylenhall, doing a fantastic job and rocking an English accent) and her brother who have taken over a huge family business and charitable organization dedicated to bringing about peace and understanding between Israel and Palestine. Good luck!

Unbelievable (2019). This Netflix 8-part series, based closely on true events that took place in Colorado and Washington in 2008-11, depicts the pursuit and capture of a serial rapist (and the horrifying treatment by male police officers that some of the rape victims endured); the two lead detectives are played brilliantly by Merritt Wever and Toni Collette.