The “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” premiered on Disney+ in March 2026, featuring most of the main cast members, including Miley Cyrus, for the Alex Cooper-hosted reunion. However, Mitchel Musso and Emily Osment were notably absent. Now, months later, he’s revealing why fans didn’t see him on the special.

Musso appeared on “The Joe Vulpis Podcast” in June 2026 to discuss his life post Disney Channel success. During the chat, the topic of “Hannah Montana” came up, and the actor confirmed he had been invited to appear on the special. He began, “It wasn’t the right thing.”

According to him, “Of course they asked me.” Regarding his decision to skip, he stated, “It wasn’t presented correctly.” Musso then explained that he would have preferred Disney to produce a new episode or even a movie, with him stepping back into his character, Oliver Oken, instead of using the reunion format.

He continued, “The kid in me was banking on it. Do an episode. Do a show. The set is still there. They just did it differently, and it is what it is, but it wasn’t the right thing.”

Mitchel Says He Was Too Busy For The Special

Musso continued explaining his absence from the “Hannah Montana” 20th Anniversary Special, saying, “I was busy doing something that was more important.” However, had the decision been made to film an original episode to celebrate the show’s anniversary, it would have been “way more important” than what he did instead.

The 34-year-old continued, “It would’ve been everything. I would’ve dropped everything—eat, breathe, sleep. I’m flying in early. I’m gonna be there. It didn’t turn out that way.”

He then reflected on the special, highlighting that timing also played a factor, saying, “It’s too long of a wait to do it in a way that isn’t even close to, in my opinion, correct.”

Musso added about his desire to return to the character, “I’d want to feel the part again. I’d want to put on that little polo again and wear the plaid shorts with the goofy shoes—I’d want to play the character.”

‘Hannah Montana’ Fans Are In Agreement With Mitchel

Following Musso’s reasoning for not appearing on the special, fans of the iconic Disney Channel series largely agree. This is the case, as many found what aired on Disney+ in March to be underwhelming compared to what they expected from the reunion.

One person said on X, “I think we can all agree with him a bit.” Someone else said, “He’s right.” After that, another social media user chimed in, writing, “It was fun and enjoyable and really emotional to hear her sing ‘ This Is the Life,’ but he’s also not wrong.”

However, despite the support, some took issue with his stance, saying he robbed the fans of the full experience. One person stated, “He still could have shown up.” Someone else wrote, “I think he just wanted a bigger paycheck from Disney.”

In addition to reacting to his reasoning for not appearing on the “Hannah Montana” special, social media users are also reacting to how happy and healthy Musso appears.

The Actor Previously Reflected On The Anniversary Of The Show

Despite not filming the “Hannah Montana” reunion special, Musso took to his official Instagram page in March to reflect on the series’ legacy. He did so by posting photos from the show and penning a lengthy statement.

He said, “Hannah Montana wrapped around my heart and never really let go. We literally grew up with ya’ll — long days, crazy schedules, learning lines, cracking up between takes, and figuring out life while the cameras rolled.”

After that, the actor noted what he gained from the show, saying, “It taught me so many wonderful values, but the most important to me is that laughter can get you through the tough days. That confidence still sticks with me every single day.”

In tributing the audience, he said, “To all of you who grew up right alongside us… your friends were our friends too.”

The ‘Hannah Montana’ Alum Has A New Movie In The Works

Though not on screen as often as during his original Disney Channel days, Musso has remained active in Hollywood, with roles in projects such as “The Rinse” in 2025, “Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe” in 2020, and “The Sand” in 2015.

However, according to Deadline, he was cast in 2025 to star in the upcoming comedy film “Mister Fun,” alongside Jesse Metcalfe, Cocoa Brown, and others. The movie is currently listed as being in post-production.

Dolly Parton is giving fans another reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

The beloved singer made a surprise appearance on Wednesday at the opening of her Tennessee Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tennessee. It was a small but powerful moment that sent a wave of relief across her devoted fanbase.

While the appearance eased some fears, Dolly Parton has remained the subject of speculation in recent months following reports about health struggles and the cancellation of a highly anticipated residency.

Dolly Parton surprised fans with her appearance for the grand opening of Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tennessee.

On Wednesday, the country music star was in attendance to showcase some of the site’s new features, such as a barbecue restaurant and a coffee shop called “Cup of Ambition.”

The look was one of Parton’s rare public appearances in recent times, and it brought smiles to the faces of her many fans who’ve worried about her health.

Fans had been particularly looking forward to the singer’s return and were ecstatic to see her smiling and interacting with people after a hiatus, as she made several appearances.

She had previously stepped back from several other events while recovering physically and emotionally. The turnout on Wednesday indicated that the legendary entertainer might be making her comeback to the stage she has illuminated for more than 50 years, per TMZ.

The Country Star Previously Made An Appearance In March

The Blast covered Parton’s first major public appearance in March, when she delivered the keynote address at the opening of Dollywood’s 41st season in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It was her first time in front of a large crowd after months out of the spotlight.

That night, addressing an audience, Parton admitted to experiencing health challenges, as well as the loss of Carl. She told the crowd, “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.” “All is good. It didn’t slow me down.”

The Dollywood season also kicked off a new attraction, the $50 million NightFlight Expedition roller coaster. Parton co-owns the theme park, which has been a cornerstone of the Pigeon Forge community since the 1980s.

Dolly Parton Opened Up About Grieving Carl Dean While Juggling Health Issues

Beyond the health battles, Parton has been open about the emotional weight of losing Carl Dean, who passed away in March 2025 at the age of 82 after a long illness. The two had been together for nearly six decades, marrying in 1966 after meeting outside a Nashville laundromat in 1964.

Parton said she needed to recover after his death, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. She said she was “worn down” and “worn out” as she grieved the death with her health issues. 

Dolly Parton, in another interview, expressed her peace knowing that Carl was no longer suffering, yet she spoke of the great loneliness he had left behind. Fitting in has been a big adjustment for a woman who had been living with someone for almost 60 years.

Insiders Say Carl’s Death Hit Parton Harder Than Anyone Realized

The Blast has previously reported that people who knew Parton said that life was heartbreaking without Carl Dean. The insider said the singer’s grief affected her physically, as she stopped eating properly, and some of her former health care regimens were neglected.

Another source alleged that it was the first time in decades that Parton really slowed down. Later, the country girl admitted the challenge to herself, writing to fans that she was experiencing a “year of firsts” without Carl, including holidays, anniversaries, and even Carl’s death anniversary.

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Dolly Parton Canceled Her Las Vegas Residency But Refuses To Quit

Parton announced in May that she was canceling her Las Vegas residency after previously postponing it from December 2025 to September 2026.

In a candid video, she revealed that her immune and digestive systems were “all out of whack” and that some medications left her feeling “swimmy-headed.”

Despite the setback, Parton made it clear she has no plans to retire, telling fans, “Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet.”

One lucky man has Amy Adams and her family to thank for saving his life.

The actress recently shared a wild story about the time she saved a man’s life while spending quality time with her loved ones.

The incident occurred in Santa Monica, and Amy Adams drew on her medical knowledge from her time on the short-lived TV show “Dr. Vegas.”

During a recent interview, Adams reflected on her time starring as a nurse on the CBS show, noting that she had shadowed an emergency room doctor to prepare for the role. Thanks to this experience, the actress was well prepared when an accident occurred in Santa Monica.

According to the entertainer, she and her family were leaving their favorite restaurant when they noticed a group of people panicking. “They’re yelling, ‘He’s dying!’ and my husband’s like, ‘That’s blood,’” Adams shared on the “SmartLess” podcast, noting she told her beau, Darren Le Gallo, to stay with their daughter, Aviana.

Meanwhile, the actress sprang into action with her father and rushed over to the group, where they discovered a man had been stabbed in the neck. Adams and her dad grabbed the towels they were going to use at the beach to apply pressure on the man’s neck before her TV medical knowledge kicked in.

The TV Personality Remained Calm And Composed Throughout The Scary Situation

Adams recalled remaining calm and composed throughout the ordeal, giving instructions to de-escalate the situation. “I’m sitting there somehow going, ‘You need to calm your pulse rate. Take a deep breath in.’ I literally was just so focused,” she said, adding

“I was like, ‘The more you struggle, the faster you’re going to bleed. Just lay down. Let’s elevate this.’”

The “Enchanted” star’s efforts saved the man’s life, and he had the opportunity to express his gratitude a year after the incident. Adams noted that she was in a restaurant when a stranger approached her to ask about the stabbing incident.

The Stabbing Victim Got Emotional While Thanking The Actress

When the man approached the TV personality, he didn’t introduce himself as the person she and her father had saved. Instead, he acted like a stranger who heard about their heroic act and wanted to confirm the story.

After Adams confirmed the incident had happened and wondered how the man knew, he then revealed the scar on his neck. The actress recalled being pleasantly surprised by his identity, while the latter got emotional as he thanked her for saving his life.

“He was like all teary, and he had his son with him. It was so crazy,” the actress said. As for how the man got stabbed, Adams said she didn’t know the full story. Nonetheless, she heard the victim and his friends had bumped into an old college friend and had some drinks before the man “just freaked out.”

The Golden Globe Award Winner Faced Many Hurdles

Adams’ life-saving role as a nurse on the short-lived TV show marked one of the many jobs she took to make a name for herself in Hollywood. In a 2014 interview, she opened up about her difficult rise to fame, noting she was “a mess.”

She described the many years she spent trying to survive in Los Angeles as “painful, to say the least,” recalling how she took “everything from day player to guest star to small parts in movies.” But these roles were not enough to ensure her survival.

Adams, per E! News, confessed that she was under “a lot of pressure” and almost quit acting because she was starting to dislike who she was becoming. Fortunately, her perseverance paid off, and the spotlight began to notice the actress in her early 30s.

Amy Adams Once Had A Crush On Leonardo DiCaprio

One of the projects that put Adams in the spotlight was 2002’s “Catch Me If You Can,” in which she played Leonardo DiCaprio’s love interest. The Blast reported in 2022 that the TV personality had reflected on her experience working with the actor.

She confessed that she was once one of DiCaprio’s biggest admirers, but her feelings for him cooled after meeting him. “Nothing really kills a crush faster than working with somebody,” Adams explained, clarifying that she didn’t mean it in a bad way.

According to the actress, her fantasy of DiCaprio was ruined after getting to know the real him. Additionally, she had no time to think about a crush while dealing with the pressure of the spotlight after their movie became a hit amongst fans.

For more than a decade, “Stranger Things” shaped Millie Bobby Brown’s childhood, career, and closest relationships. 

However, when the cameras finally stopped rolling on Netflix’s blockbuster series, the actress discovered saying goodbye was far harder than she ever imagined. 

Instead of celebrating the end of a hugely successful chapter, Brown found herself battling unexpected emotions, questioning friendships, and struggling to process life without the people who had become her second family.

Millie Bobby Brown candidly reflected on the emotional aftermath of finishing “Stranger Things” during a live recording of Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in New York City. 

Although she has long been known for her upbeat personality, Brown admitted she wasn’t prepared for how deeply the ending of the series would affect her.

“It was very hard for me,” Brown recalled per Page Six, adding, “I would not have expected that coming off of the show. I’m a very happy-go-lucky person.”

Instead of feeling relieved after wrapping one of Netflix’s biggest franchises, Brown said she found herself overwhelmed by unexpected sadness. 

The 22-year-old described falling into “a slight depression,” explaining that the emotional weight of closing such a significant chapter in her life hit far harder than she ever imagined.

Brown Tried To Mend Relationships With Her Co-Stars

As she processed the end of the series, Millie Bobby Brown also found herself reaching out to the people she had worked alongside for years. 

The young star admitted she wanted to make sure there was no lingering tension with her “Stranger Things” family, including David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin and Winona Ryder.

“I was like, ‘We’re still friends, right? Like, you’re not gonna stop talking to me anymore?’” she recalled.

Brown explained that she apologized if she had ever hurt anyone during their decade together, hoping to leave the production on good terms. 

She explained, “I was like, ‘I’m sorry if I ever upset you,’ and was just trying to mend anything. ‘It’s been 10 years, and I really want to be friends. You’re my sibling.’”

The emotions continued long after filming wrapped. While spending time by the ocean, the “Enola Holmes” star said the reality of everything finally caught up with her.

“And then I was on the beach, it was beautiful, and I just sat there crying,” she continued. “It was a very hard time for me.”

Millie Bobby Brown Says Eleven Became Part Of Who She Is

For Brown, “Stranger Things” wasn’t simply another acting job. It represented her childhood, her identity and many of the relationships that shaped her formative years.

She began portraying Eleven at just ten years old, remaining with the series throughout its five-season run from 2016 to 2025. Looking back, Brown said the experience was something very few people could truly understand.

“And no one will ever understand it,” she shared. Brown explained that playing Eleven became inseparable from her own life because she spent more time with the cast than she often did with her own family.

In her words, “I started the show when I was 10, and this character was me, and these people were in my life more than my own family.”

She added that she saw her castmates more frequently than she was able to sit down for dinner at home, making the goodbye especially painful after a decade together. 

Brown admitted that leaving the character behind remains one of the hardest parts of closing the series. “I’m going to miss Eleven more than anything,” she noted.

Brown And Harbour Moved Past Their On-Set Disagreement

Although Millie Bobby Brown now speaks warmly about her castmates, her time on “Stranger Things” wasn’t entirely free of conflict. 

Reports emerged ahead of the show’s fifth season alleging she had filed a complaint involving David Harbour, who portrayed her on-screen adoptive father, Chief Jim Hopper.

According to earlier reports, Harbour was the subject of an internal investigation before production on the final season began, although the outcome of that inquiry was never publicly disclosed. Brown also reportedly filmed the series finale with a personal representative present on set. 

Earlier this month, Harbour publicly acknowledged there had been tension between him and Brown, though he emphasized that they eventually resolved their differences.

Speaking to Variety, he compared the disagreement to family dynamics, noting that families “occasionally get in arguments, disagreements” before they ultimately “come back together.”

He also explained that others had become involved before the two stars decided to handle the issue themselves. Harbour shared that once he and Brown had “cleared everybody out of the way and talked to each other,” they were “fine.”

Millie Bobby Brown And David Harbour Found Common Ground After Clearing The Air

Harbour reflected further on the situation, revealing that the biggest challenge wasn’t the disagreement itself but how uncomfortable people had become with honest conversations.

“Everyone nowadays is very scared of talking about things,” he reflected, further noting, “People are very scared of being human. It’s unfortunate, because I don’t know how to navigate this weird media world.”

Despite the headlines surrounding their relationship, Harbour maintained that the conflict never changed the foundation of their bond. 

“But it was completely normal and we adore each other and always have,” the 51-year-old stated.

There’s going to be at least a little heaviness in just about every drama movie out there, because it’s in the name, really. Dramas deal with difficult things, or personal struggles, and sometimes broader ideas, or, like, groups of people working through something immense. As boring as it might be to be the 500,000,00th person to bring it up, The Shawshank Redemption really is a quintessential drama, and one where there’s a balance of intense moments of hardship and quite a bit by way of moments that are inspiring and hopeful.

With the following films, though, there’s a focus on hardship and sadness. These are the heaviest drama movies of all time, and they’re either devoid of hope, or what little traces by way of silver linings that they might have are incredibly dim. There will also be a focus on dramas over anything else, so even if something notoriously heavy like Come and See might be labeled a drama, it’s primarily – and usually – described as a war movie, or at least a war-drama, so it doesn’t qualify for this particular ranking.

10

‘An Elephant Sitting Still’ (2018)

Image via KimStim

Even if you think you’ve seen it all, movie-wise, there are still almost guaranteed to be parts of An Elephant Sitting Still that’ll rattle you. Part of that has to do with the film being remarkably long, as in almost four hours, so there’s a lot here that is dark when, like, the whole film is about several people trying to get by while living lives defined by various personal struggles.

It is grounded in that way, and the kind of movie where it’s easy to forget you’re watching one. It’s a cliché to call a movie hypnotic, but An Elephant Sitting Still really is, since there’s a unique rhythm here and all the long takes prove immersive, too. The legacy of the film, and the story behind its production and release (if you want to read up on that… it is really bleak, though, as a warning), does also inevitably add to the heaviness of An Elephant Sitting Still, and its ultimate/undeniable haunting quality.

9

‘Scenes from a Marriage’ (1974)

Image via Cinematograph AB

While not as long as An Elephant Sitting Still, the theatrical version of Scenes from a Marriage is still pretty much epic-length, though the scope of the movie (and its premise) definitely aren’t in line with what you’d expect to see in an epic. Basically, it is a bunch of scenes, many of them long and most of them involving some kind of argument between a married couple who are going through a divorce.

When Marriage Story came out, it was pretty easy to compare it to Scenes from a Marriage, though that’s also got a little more by way of hope. And the same can probably be said for Kramer vs. Kramer. Scenes from a Marriage is more intense, and very subversive/bitter if you want to consider it a romance film of sorts. It is primarily a drama, though, and one all about falling out of love rather than falling in love, so it feels like it qualifies for present purposes.

8

‘Bicycle Thieves’ (1948)

Unlike some of the other dramas here, there isn’t any graphic or shocking content in Bicycle Thieves, and it ultimately finds other ways to be incredibly downbeat. It’s about a man trying to provide for his family in Italy, during the post-war years, and eventually finding a job that requires a bicycle, only for everything to be placed in jeopardy once that, you know, bicycle thief strikes.

Much of it’s about this man and his son going around, trying to find the stolen bicycle, and how the desperation inherent to an already desperate situation intensifies. Bicycle Thieves is simultaneously sad and very simple, and one of those films that shows how you can make something cinematically compelling out of pretty much anything. It’s also hard to imagine many people watching this and somehow not feeling at least the slightest bit moved by what they see.

7

‘Sátántangó’ (1994)

Image via Vega Film

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One of the biggest endurance tests in cinema history, Sátántangó (based on an also harrowing novel) goes for about 430 minutes, and it feels some level of soul-crushing, dull, and emotionally empty for almost every single one of those minutes. It’s like a slice-of-life movie where life just sucks, and there’s nothing for anyone, and nothing matters. People live in a tiny village, and living in a tiny village sucks. One guy comes through the town and inspires hope, but he also sucks, since he has his own nefarious scheme he’s trying to execute.

It’s non-stop misery, and then the pacing feels the opposite of non-stop, since Sátántangó is one of the slowest films ever made. It’s glacially paced by design, sure, but still. There also isn’t really any other genre you can argue this one fits into. It’s a straightforward drama, never threatening to be funny like a comedy, or exciting like a thriller, or (traditionally) scary like a horror movie. This is enough, though, for some to consider it one of the best films of its decade… somehow.

6

‘The Conformist’ (1970)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Compared to Sátántangó, The Conformist almost feels like an action movie, or at least a thriller, but it is still pretty methodical and patiently paced in the overall scheme of things, not to mention more of a political drama than anything else. Well, maybe a psychological drama, too. It’s about a man who attempts to carry out the assassination of someone he used to look up to, mostly due to him becoming politically and morally compromised.

It’s a film about fascism, evil, and human nature. It is also incredibly beautiful, at least to look at, so The Conformist can be considered an arthouse film quite comfortably, if that counts as a genre. Still, if that’s not a genre, then it’s a drama, and an oddly hard-hitting one, albeit in ways that aren’t too easy to describe. It gets under your skin and stays there, itching/bothering you a lot, rather than punching you in your gut the way a bunch of the other movies being mentioned here opt to do. And speaking of movies that go right for the gut…

5

‘Requiem for a Dream’ (2000)

Image via Artisan Entertainment

This is probably the most nightmarish a non-horror movie can feel. Requiem for a Dream is… well, the hint at the nightmarish is there in the title. It’s the death of a dream, and the dream’s replaced by a nightmare. It’s hard not to feel this way during and after the film, as Requiem for a Dream might well be one of the least subtle movies in cinema history.

It’s blunt with a purpose, though, in trying to showcase the worst-case scenario for a few people who all get addicted to some kind of substance and have it tear their respective lives apart in a variety of ways. The misery here is pretty consistent, and also works well to feel more intense on a pretty much scene-by-scene basis, all crescendoing to inevitable tragedy (and it’s not the fact that it is a tragedy which is the surprising part… more so just how in-your-face that tragedy is and, ultimately, how tragic things get).

4

‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’ (2007)

Image via Mobra Films

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is entirely uncompromising, but has to be, to get across the message it wants to. It’s a Romanian film about a young pregnant woman who works with her friend to find a way to get a black-market abortion at a time in Romania’s history when doing so was illegal, and then the various risks (health-related and also what might happen if they’re caught) are unpacked in grueling detail.

Everything here is presented in a way that feels uncomfortably grounded, so if anything, you might well wish 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was less immersive than it is. Though, again, that does give the film its power, and sure, it’s about a divisive issue, so you might not agree with what it’s trying to say – and where it does fall on the abortion debate – but it’s hard not to acknowledge or even admire just how impactfully this argument/message is presented.

3

‘Mysterious Skin’ (2004)

Image via Tartan Films

If there’s anything by way of a silver lining or some kind of inspiring thing to be found in Mysterious Skin, you do have to look very hard, but it says something about finding strength in bonds with others. That’s something, and it stands out when everything else here is so crushing. It is, ultimately, about two young men who find they share some kind of upsetting past, and that sense of having someone to relate to… again, it’s something.

It’s the way the film unpacks that past, though, and what Mysterious Skin deals with thematically that makes it so challenging to watch. What it shows isn’t necessarily overly graphic, but the subject matter is a lot to grapple with. Mysterious Skin is incredible, though, and right up there among the very best films being mentioned here. It’s just also one that you could understand most people not really wanting to watch, simply because of what it deals with (yes, that stuff was skirted around here, but go read up on the movie if you want to know; find some commentary that isn’t required to be essentially PG-rated and stuff).

2

‘Harakiri’ (1962)

Image via Shochiku

Since there’s a focus on samurai culture/morality and, eventually, a little by way of bloody action, you could almost say Harakiri is a martial arts movie… just one that really doesn’t emphasize action at all. It’s much more of a drama, and there are only a few minutes of fighting in a movie that runs for more than two hours, and proves gut-wrenching in some very visceral ways for much of that runtime.

Harakiri is about a man who wants to take his own life in the titular ritual, but he also wants to explain why he’s been driven to that point to a samurai clan, all before taking part in this ritual before them. Much of it’s told in a series of flashbacks that start grim, and then keep getting all the more upsetting. Compared to other films about samurai (even those that don’t spend too much time on action/fight sequences and choose instead to focus on drama and/or tragedy), this is particularly heavy-going stuff.

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Harakiri

Release Date

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September 15, 1962

Runtime

133 Minutes

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Director

Masaki Kobayashi

Writers

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Shinobu Hashimoto

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  Tatsuya Nakadai

  Hanshiro Tsugumo

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  Akira Ishihama

  Motome Chijiiwa

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  Shima Iwashita

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  Miho Tsugumo

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  Tetsurô Tanba

  Hikokuro Omodaka

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1

‘The Seventh Continent’ (1989)

Image via Wega Film

Some people might push back against the idea that The Seventh Continent is the most heavy-going Michael Haneke movie, but that could be because it’s not quite as well-known as the likes of The Piano Teacher and Amour. Those are also emotionally intense, of course, but The Seventh Continent has even more by way of dread, building it up for a very long time before, uh, something happens.

That’s the other hard part. If you say what makes this film as devastating as it is, you kind of ruin the whole thing. If you’re in any way familiar with Haneke, you’ll expect something emotionally and psychologically harrowing, yet this really goes the extra mile, when it gets to the point where it’s ready to. The Seventh Continent should be watched the one time, and then probably never again. Good luck finding anyone who’s either seen it twice, or has already seen it and one day wants to watch it for a second time.

Miniseries are all the rage in the streaming era, but streaming services didn’t pioneer miniseries. In fact, networks like HBO have been doing it for a while now, and HBO itself has practically perfected the art of the limited series (AKA miniseries). For decades now, they have been the undisputed home of content like this, producing dense, cinematic stories that know how to make a grand statement in just a handful of episodes.

Combing through HBO’s staggering library, we can find a bunch of flawless shows that have a few episodes only. They’re perfect for binge-watching and a quick weekend break away from reality, without any wasted moments. Packed with incredible performances, airtight writing, and memorable stories, here are the perfect HBO miniseries with six episodes or fewer.

‘Parade’s End’ (2013)

Image via BBC Two

A symbolic and somewhat forgotten member of prestige TV is Parade’s End, a drama directed by Susanna White, written by the legendary Tom Stoppard, and featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in one of his greatest TV performances. Parade’s End was adapted from Ford Madox Ford‘s notoriously dense novel tetralogy; while five episodes may not feel adequate for adapting the entire story, the miniseries does a great job of capturing the slow, painful death of the old Edwardian world order under the weight of modern warfare, which is the entire point of the tetralogy.

Set during the early 20th century, the series follows Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), a principled aristocrat trapped in a destructive marriage with the cruel and manipulative socialite Sylvia (played with icy perfection by Rebecca Hall). While he suffers through this emotional warfare, he finds himself increasingly drawn to a young suffragette, Valentine Wannop (Adelaide Clemens), during the outbreak of World War I. It can be a demanding, slow-burning watch that emphasizes the characters’ inner turmoil over any action, but the performances are uniformly magnificent. It is a perfect, almost academic exercise in character studies; many critics have called Parade’s End “Downton Abbey‘s darker half.”

‘Mildred Pierce’ (2011)

Image via HBO

Mildred Pierce was adapted from James M. Cain‘s 1941 novel of the same name, and this HBO miniseries by director/writer/producer Todd Haynes is the second adaptation of the novel. The first was the 1945 film noir starring Joan Crawford, while the miniseries takes the same story and stretches it into a sprawling five-part Depression-era epic starring Kate Winslet in the same role as Crawford. Despite gaining a fairly limited audience response upon release, Mildred Pierce swept the Emmys, with Winslet taking home the Best Actress Emmy for her powerful leading performance.

Mildred Pierce follows Winslet as the titular character, a newly single mother who, after leaving her husband during the Great Depression, scraps and claws her way to financial independence by building a successful restaurant from the ground up. However, the drama isn’t just about scraping by; it’s a psychological dissection of motherhood and class aspiration. Mildred’s fatal flaw is her obsessive, unrequited love for her monstrously ambitious and ungrateful daughter, Veda (Evan Rachel Wood), who despises her mother for her perceived “common” roots. Mildred Pierce is a perfect blueprint for how to adapt a classic noir into a modern prestige TV series, and this one’s still heavily talked about among fans.

‘I Know This Much Is True’ (2020)

If you are looking for a light, fun watch, run far away from I Know This Much Is True. However, if you want to watch one of the most actorly tours de force ever committed to television, then this is the right choice for you. Mark Ruffalo pulls off a miraculous double performance as Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, identical twins whose lives are shattered by tragedy and mental illness; the story is exhausting, relentless, and emotionally devastating, but Ruffalo’s commitment is undeniable. He won a Primetime Emmy, a SAG, and a Golden Globe for his performance.

In I Know This Much Is True, Thomas Birdsey suffers from debilitating paranoid schizophrenia; one day, he has a horrific public breakdown that he justifies as an act to stop the Gulf War, but this only lands him in a maximum-security asylum. Dominick, his twin, spends the entirety of the six-hour run trying to navigate bureaucratic hell to free his brother while simultaneously unraveling his own traumatic past. I Know This Much Is True is a perfect, harrowing study of familial trauma that uses its six episodes to make you feel overwhelming sympathy and despair before giving you some genuine hope.

‘Years and Years’ (2019)

Image via HBO

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Though still heavily underrated, Russell T. Davies‘ Years and Years is one of the scariest dystopian science fiction series of the 21st century. The miniseries uses the intimate scale of a family home to ground massive, world-ending events, making global doom feel aggressively personal, affecting every member of the family in a certain way. For a show that depicts the end of the world across six one-hour episodes, Years and Years moves with a fast, witty pace that never feels dull or overwhelming.

Years and Years follows an ordinary Manchester family, the Lyons, over the course of fifteen years starting in 2019, but the truth is that the fictional future it depicts feels terrifyingly plausible. As the years tick by in the show, the world succumbs to economic collapse, authoritarian government surveillance, refugee crises, the rise of transhumanism, and the political schemes of a populist billionaire played by the fantastic Emma Thompson. There are moments when the show feels less like science fiction and more like a news broadcast, but despite its freakish realism, Years and Years is perfect and essential viewing.

‘We Own This City’ (2022)

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In We Own This City, David Simon, the creator of The Wire, returns to Baltimore, but he isn’t here to show us the noble corners of the drug trade this time. This time, he is here to show us the rot from the inside out, the institutional kind. But it’s not fair to compare it to The Wire, which feels like a literary journey. We Own This City is, much rather, a quick, direct punch to the gut, a systemic critique of institutional failure without charming antiheroes and redemption arcs. The miniseries boasts a 93% Certified Fresh rating, but it still feels heavily underseen by wider audiences. Here’s time to fix that.

We Own This City is a six-part, journalistic deep dive into the real-life rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a plainclothes unit that was meant to be busting criminals, while they themselves were the actual criminals. Led by a mesmerizing Jon Bernthal as Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, the show depicts how this elite squad turned into a crew of violent robbers and racketeers who stole millions of dollars while trampling on civil rights. We Own This City is simply a portrait of total corruption and a great watch that still condemns this kind of behavior.

‘Olive Kitteridge’ (2014)

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Olive Kitteridge might be the most efficient character study on this list, yet it spans 25 years in the life of its titular character while taking up only four hours of runtime (four one-hour episodes). The miniseries follows Olive but is, more than anything, a portrait of her depression, which she uses as a bitter, defensive mechanism to push away the people who love her most, including her husband and son. Created by Jane Anderson and directed entirely by Lisa Cholodenko, this adaptation of Elizabeth Strout‘s novel swept the Emmy Awards, taking home eight, including Outstanding Limited Series.

Frances McDormand plays Olive, a sharp-tongued and deeply depressed middle-school math teacher living in the fictional seaside town of Crosby, Maine. On the surface, she is rude to her loving husband Henry (Richard Jenkins), alienates her son Christopher (John Gallagher Jr.), and lashes out at anyone who gets too close. But under that surface hides a vast, lonely ocean of pain that Olive continuously masks with her stinging personality. Olive Kitteridge is a masterpiece about the stubbornness of the human heart, embodied perfectly by McDormand, a tour de force in pretty much everything she does.

‘Angels in America’ (2003)

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Angels in America is Mike Nichols‘ six-episode adaptation of Tony Kushner‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and it remains the gold standard for short-form series. It is a fantasia about national themes, including religion, politics, and sexuality. The cast is packed, from Al Pacino and Meryl Streep to Mary Louise Parker and Jeffrey Wright, who all won Emmys for their performances, both lead and supporting. In 2004, Angels in America broke the record for the most Emmys won by a miniseries in a single year (11 wins), but its depiction of the AIDS epidemic remains the most important part of this fascinating series.

Angels in America is set in New York City during the mid-1980s, and it follows Prior Walter (Justin Kirk), a gay man dying of AIDS; during his hospital stay, he is visited by a celestial Angel, who declares him a prophet and gives him a message from the angels to humanity. The series also weaves in the stories of Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman), Prior’s lover who abandons him out of fear, Roy Cohn (Pacino), the real-life closeted lawyer and political fixer who is also dying of AIDS but denying it, and Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson), a closeted lawyer working for Roy. Angels in America relies on visual grandiosity and fantasy, but it’s an intimate portrait of living with AIDS and the closeted life.

‘Chernobyl’ (2019)

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Chernobyl is a five-episode historical thriller miniseries that depicts the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster and the catastrophic, downright infuriating cleanup that followed. Chernobyl meticulously plays out as a procedural about how a system swimming in denial turns a manageable accident into a world-ending catastrophe; it also depicts how the disaster affected ordinary people, workers’ families, and residents who lived near the disaster site. Chernobyl is widely regarded as the best miniseries of the 21st century, winning multiple Emmys and the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries.

Chernobyl begins with a disaster: the core of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is exposed, but the lead engineer denies it. Following the explosion, Valery Legasov (Jared Harris), a renowned Soviet scientist, is brought in to lead the cleanup efforts. He’s joined by the cynical deputy chairman, Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård), and Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson), a physicist tasked with discovering the ugly truth. Many characters are real, but one of the exceptions is Khomyuk, who is a fictional amalgamation of various scientists who worked on solving the mystery of the explosion. Chernobyl shows the explosion in the first episode, leaving the remaining four to explore the contradictions of the bureaucratic cleanup, as well as the exposure of the first responders on the explosion site. It’s a tragedy about the cost of truth and a must-see for any HBO fan or history buff.

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Chernobyl

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Release Date

2019 – 2019

Network

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HBO

Showrunner

Craig Mazin

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Directors

Johan Renck

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 13 seconds ago

Last year, James Gunn’s Superman blew audiences away by introducing an infectiously fun alternative to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the MCU helped mainstream the snarky-but-nonthreatening school of “well, that just happened” humor, Superman offered a cinematic universe that took its cues from the titular hero. It was bright, colorful, and delightfully earnest from beginning to end. Walking into Supergirl, I was hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately, the movie is a large step back for the DCU, one that is constantly biting Marvel’s style. It wants to be DC’s Guardians of the Galaxy; instead, it’s dangerously close to being DC’s answer to Thor: The Dark World.

Like that infamous Marvel movie, Supergirl presents great performances from its lead actors. Milly Alcock is effortlessly great as the woman of steel, and in his brief appearances, David Corenswet is all colorful confidence and charisma. Jason Momoa, meanwhile, is so perfect as Lobo that you’ll be clamoring for a solo movie after his very first scene. Unfortunately, great performances aren’t enough to create a great movie, and like Thor: The Dark World Before It,  Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl suffers under the weight of mediocre writing, murky cinematography, and poor chemistry between otherwise strong actors. Overall, it has great moments, but they are stifled by missteps that serve as the film’s fatal Kryptonite.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Bark

Supergirl’s story begins with her traveling the universe with Krypto, her faithful dog. She’s doing a kind of intergalactic pub crawl to celebrate her birthday, but to get properly drunk, she has to hang out on planets with a red sun, which nullifies her powers. Eventually, some Brigands steal her ship, and their leader shoots Krypto with a poison that only he can cure. This forces Supergirl to travel the galaxy with a surprise companion: a teenager whose entire family was slaughtered by the Brigand’s boss, leaving her with nothing but a keen blood and a keener taste for vengeance.

There are several things Supergirl does very well, starting with its featured performers. Milly Alcock is perfect as the titular heroine and gives a surprisingly complex performance. The character is not just a superpowered badass: she’s also a young woman caught between the trauma of her past and the challenges of building a future for herself. She’s also constantly worried about Krypto, as the power pooch has only three days to live. The role arguably asks more of Alcock than Superman asked of David Corenswet, and she handles everything with a vibrance and versatility that will leave you hungry for more Supergirl appearances in the future. 

Fun (But Cheap) Thrills

Speaking of Corenswet, he appears very little in this film, but he remains an inspiringly optimistic hero, one that Alcock’s snarky heroine bounces off of. However, Corenswet may now have competition for the coolest dude in the DCU thanks to Jason Momoa. The former Aquaman actor is the spitting image of Lobo, one of the most over-the-top characters DC ever created. He steals every scene he’s in, and it’s not hard to see why: Lobo’s whole role in the film is to drop hilarious one-liners and then aura farming his way through fight scenes. Momoa has wanted to play this character for years, and his passion for the role shines in every scene.

One of Supergirl’s other great strengths is its humor. While not as laugh-out-loud funny as Superman, the movie has several solid gags throughout its svelte runtime. Plus, it’s almost impossible not to laugh whenever Lobo opens his big mouth. There are some great action scenes, including a climactic final battle that shows just how dangerous Supergirl can be when she finally unleashes her full powers. Throw in some other memorable characters, hilariously irreverent dialogue, and a genuinely unpredictable plot, and you have a superhero film that’s relatively good. Unfortunately, DCU guru James Gunn needed this second DCU film to be really great, and in that, it misses the mark.

It’s All Downhill From Here

A major problem with Supergirl is the pacing. The film can never quite decide whether it wants to be a relatively sedate space road trip or an action extravaganza, and it settles, quite frustratingly, right in the middle. There’s plenty of world-building going on as Supergirl treks through the stars; unfortunately, the world it builds just isn’t that interesting. Many of the alien designs are just aggressively boring, and the villains (extraterrestrial brigands named, well, the Brigands) are painfully one-dimensional. That’s especially true of Krem, a Big Bad with no personality or defining traits other than leering menacingly at the camera from time to time.

When Supergirl decides to deliver the goods (like with the aforementioned climactic battle), it’s truly awesome, offering audiences everything they bought a ticket for and then some. Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many of these scenes, and when we do get an onscreen fight, there’s a 50/50 chance you won’t be able to see much of anything. That’s partially due to the baffling choice of having Supergirl’s coolest moments from the first half of the movie basically happen offscreen while other characters hard. And it’s partially due to the movie looking inexplicably dreary: outside of the title character’s colorful uniform, the film largely alternates between muted grays and piss filter yellows. 

A Movie That Keeps Missing The Mark

The final sin of this film is that there is surprisingly little chemistry. I just never really felt much of a connection between Milly Alcock and Eve Ridley, who plays the most annoying genre trope of all: the kid sidekick. Unfortunately, their relationship is meant to be the beating heart of the movie, which is probably why much of Supergirl feels so lifeless. Our heroine similarly has no chemistry with the Big Bad or even with Lobo; in fact, she is ultimately just one more character for him to bounce funny one-liners off of. Eventually, things just get stale, especially because we all know that Supergirl’s cute dog will ultimately be just fine.

The result is a decidedly mixed bag. Supergirl isn’t a bad movie, and if you’re a DC fan, you’ll find plenty to enjoy. But it’s not a great movie either, especially for a film that has to follow in the footsteps of last year’s Superman. The action is solid…when you can actually see it. The performances are awesome, but nobody has any chemistry. The effects are great, but the designs are awful. It’s a hodge-podge of a film that makes for a modestly entertaining way to kill a summer afternoon. But it’s ultimately a movie that squanders the talents of Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa while killing almost all the forward momentum of this burgeoning cinematic universe.

Joe Manganiello is opening up about one of the darkest chapters of his life, revealing the painful reality behind a years-long health battle he kept hidden from the public.

While fans saw the actor continuing to work and appear at events, he says he was privately fighting a mysterious illness, enduring devastating treatments, and searching for answers that even leading specialists struggled to provide.

For years, Joe Manganiello chose not to reveal the health crisis that was unfolding behind closed doors.

Instead of sharing his struggles publicly, the “Magic Mike” and “True Blood” star says he confided only in a small circle of trusted people while trying to understand what was happening to his body.

In a video shared on Instagram, the 49-year-old actor explained that he had “suffered in silence, battling a deadly mystery illness” while doctors worked to identify the cause of his condition.

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Despite consulting what he described as “the best doctors in the world,” Manganiello said he was left without clear answers.

The uncertainty only added to the emotional weight of the experience as specialists tried different treatments in hopes of slowing the illness.

Instead of bringing relief, those treatments introduced a new set of challenges that would remain with him for years.

Brutal Treatments Changed Joe Manganiello’s Life

Manganiello revealed that the medications prescribed during his search for a diagnosis ultimately came at a steep cost.

“All their attempts to treat it with high-powered biological drugs only exacerbated my symptoms and then unlocked a host of brutal side effects that winded up plaguing me for years,” he explained in the Instagram video.

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The actor said his worsening condition forced doctors to pursue increasingly aggressive medical procedures.

“And then in attempts to buy myself time, I underwent very serious operations and procedures that mutilated parts of my body,” Manganiello shared.

According to the actor, the procedures left him physically devastated. He explained that he became “so weak” that there were times he could not “stand up or walk.”

Months of recovery followed as he remained “heavily medicated” while dealing with “excruciating bouts of chronic pain.”

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The experience has remained largely private until now, with Manganiello choosing to tell the full story through his upcoming memoir, “Bloodlines,” which is scheduled for release on October 13.

Manganiello Searched Beyond Traditional Medicine

As his health crisis continued without clear medical answers, Joe Manganiello began questioning whether there was a deeper explanation behind everything he was experiencing.

Reflecting on the title of his memoir, the actor explained that “Bloodlines” represents far more than a personal health story. During his illness, he spent roughly a decade tracing his family’s history, hoping it might explain why his life had taken such an unexpected turn.

“Maybe what happened to me wasn’t random,” he said.

That search gradually expanded beyond conventional medicine.

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He shared, “And that in order to heal, my mind, my body, my spirit all had to align and I needed to become open to some really radical and unorthodox techniques and ideas that lie beyond the boundaries of western medicine.”

According to information released alongside the memoir, Manganiello explored a wide range of unconventional paths while searching for answers, including shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long-lost family records, and the rediscovery of his spirituality.

His genealogy research also uncovered relatives who survived the Armenian genocide, along with family members who had experienced chronic illnesses of their own.

The actor believes those discoveries helped reshape the way he viewed both his illness and his own identity.

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‘Bloodlines’ Explores Survival Beyond The Diagnosis

Joe Manganiello first disclosed the extent of his medical journey when announcing “Bloodlines,” revealing that he had spent seven years battling what the book describes as “a cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses.”

According to the publisher, those illnesses affected multiple parts of his body, including his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system.

According to the Daily Mail, the synopsis also reveals that the ordeal involved “plagued by chronic pain, a life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation.”

Rather than focusing solely on the physical symptoms, the memoir explores the emotional impact of living with uncertainty while trying to maintain a successful career and public life.

The official description explains, “More than a memoir of medical crisis, it is a searching account of what happens when the life you have constructed can no longer contain the truth of what you carry.”

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It continues, “Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, Bloodlines considers how the past lives on in the body and in the stories we tell about strength, survival, and selfhood. The result is both a page-turning, heart-pounding story for the ages and an essential meditation on inheritance, loss, and the work of living with what remains.”

Joe Manganiello Offers Hope To Others Still Searching

Although the actor’s journey involved years of pain, uncertainty, and life-altering procedures, he hopes sharing his experience will encourage others facing similar battles.

Instead of allowing the illness to define him, Manganiello said the experience changed how he views healing, resilience, and the connection between physical and emotional well-being.

He ended his message with encouragement for people who may still be searching for answers to unexplained medical conditions.

“If you’re out there and you’re suffering, there’s hope,” he said.

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As readers prepare for the release of “Bloodlines,” Manganiello’s story promises to reveal the full scope of a health battle that remained hidden from public view for years.

His memoir aims to tell not only the story of surviving a mysterious illness, but also of finding purpose through one of the most difficult periods of his life.