What Is A Limited Series?

Over the past decade or so, the limited series has become one of the most prestigious and highly regarded entertainment formats. Shows like "The Queen's Gambit," "Chernobyl," and "The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story," helped establish the limited series as a dominant force in Hollywood, and the accompanying category at the Primetime Emmy Awards has been one of the most competitive over the last several years. Acclaimed series like "I May Destroy You," "Mare of Easttown," "Unorthodox," and "Ripley" — all of which likely would have been shoo-in winners in earlier years — have lost out recently after well-earned nominations

But what exactly is a limited series? The current official rules from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences state that to be eligible for any awards in the limited series categories, a show must have "two (2) or more episodes with a total running time of at least 150 program minutes that tells a complete, non-recurring story." Additionally, "the story arc must be completely resolved within its season, with no ongoing storyline and/or main characters in subsequent seasons."

These days, Emmy Awards categories for limited series also include anthology series, defined as any show with two or more episodes that "tells a complete, nonrecurring story in each 'episode,' and does not have an on-going storyline and/or main characters in subsequent episodes," though "the program may be linked thematically across all episodes." That said, since the category was expanded to include anthology series in 2021, none have been nominated. So how did the limited series become such a popular format, and how is it different from a miniseries?

To put it bluntly, a limited series is just a new name for a miniseries. However, due to how TV has changed over time, there are some key technical differences between the two, and the corresponding categories at the Emmy Awards have changed many times to accommodate the trends of the day.

Given the term's recent buzziness, you may be surprised to learn that the Emmy category used to be called "outstanding limited series" decades ago — an evolution of its prior title, "outstanding drama or comedy with limited episodes." The award didn't get the "miniseries" moniker until 1986, though it was changed back to "limited series" in 2015.

Why all the back and forth? Mainly because studio executives decided that "miniseries" had lost its luster somewhere in the 2000s. The format had dropped in popularity significantly at the end of the decade, with only two nominees in the Emmy category each year in 2009 and 2010. There was also the issue of pigeonholing. Due to what was typically labeled as a miniseries at the time, the category was mostly associated with British dramas or high-concept cinematic events like "Band of Brothers."

Outside of those genres, the form had been associated for some time with trope-laden melodramas. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, then-CW head Mark Pedowitz said he believed the word "miniseries" had been tainted by these kinds of shows, hence the shift to "limited series." That same year, there was even an extravagant and star-studded spoof series, "The Spoils of Babylon," that was specifically designed to mock what the miniseries had become in the eyes of the public.

While "limited series" and "event series" are just as much marketing terms as anything else, the classification from the Television Academy specifies that they must have self-contained stories that don't bleed over into future installments. But that doesn't mean that all limited series end after just one season. "American Horror Story," which has been credited with revitalizing the format during its dark days back in 2011, has been running for over a decade. Every "American Horror Story" season brings in a new cast of characters, setting, and storyline. Shows like "Fargo" follow the same model and found similar success.

While the norm is still for most limited series to end after a single season, it's become more and more common to extend them in various ways if they find success. Netflix's "Beef," for instance, which was counted as a limited series by the Emmys, is getting another season with a new cast. At the end of the day, shows that find audiences and do well will always have the potential to get renewed, regardless of what they were initially conceived as. One other reason that the "limited series" moniker may have become more popular than "miniseries" is that it leaves things a little more open for that possibility should the show catch on.

As outlined above, the key distinction between a limited series and a traditional TV series is that the former must wrap up all of its storylines by the end of a single season. This can lead to some other common differences in production style that aren't always common across the board, but which are more likely in the case of a limited series.

For instance, in the case of Netflix's "Ripley," every episode was written and directed by the same person — lauded filmmaker Steven Zaillian. The same is true of "The Queen's Gambit," which was entirely written and directed by Scott Frank. Typically, you wouldn't see that kind of singular creative focus on a traditional series, which would involve a larger writers' room and team of creatives to divvy up the work.

That said, even though the Emmy rules are somewhat strict, limited series have bent them. While "American Horror Story" doesn't have any big storylines lingering between seasons, certain characters from past installments have come back into the fold from time to time, connecting the disparate seasons. These sorts of creative decisions make the whole divide a bit of a gray area, but that hasn't stopped the limited series from becoming a prestigious badge over the last several years.