The Limited Series Returns
The weakness of a continuing series was that it could not decide its own ending. A hit runs on; a miss is cut off partway. The shape of the story ends up decided by the convenience of business.
The limited series turns that over. It is made with the ending settled from the start. Actors and directors could then come in with the commitment they would bring to a single film. True Detective (2014) opened the door, and Chernobyl (2019) took ten categories at that year’s Emmys, including Outstanding Limited Series. Five episodes in all, co-produced by HBO in the United States and Sky in the United Kingdom.
This is less a new invention than the return of an old form. Early television had anthologies telling a different story every week (→ The SF Anthology). That shape came back, in its most lavish version.
The Last of Us in 2023 added another entrance to this band. Its source is a game. Manga, novels and films have all become the source of dramas before, but a story crossing over from the side of play is new. The premiere was announced at 4.7 million in the United States (linear and streaming combined), and the finale at 8.2 million. The places a story can come from grew by one more.