Which of the most watched miniseries did you watch?

[Monzo]

Which of the most watched miniseries in the US did you actually watch?

This is top 15 including average rating:

45.0 Roots
42.1 The Thorn Birds
38.3 The Winds of War
33.0 Shogun
31.3 Holocaust
30.1 Roots: The Next Generations
28.0 Rich Man, Poor Man
26.7 Master of the Game
26.4 Masada
26.2 V
25.8 East of Eden
25.1 Backstairs at the White House
25.1 V: The Final Battle
23.7 North and South (Book 1:26.0 & Book 2: 21.3)
22.9 I'll Take Manhattan

North and South Books 1 & 2 were produced back to back and aired during the same season, so it counts as one.

Some miniseries received follow-ups that didn't fare as well in ratings:

16.9 War and Rememberance
13.8 The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years
09.9 North and South: Book 3

Other miniseries turned into short-lived series:

21.0 Rich Man, Poor Man: Book 2
12.5 V: The Series

 

[DallasFanForever]

I was never really a big miniseries person but out of the ones on that list I remember watching the Thorn Birds and North & South.

I’m a little surprised Evergreen (1985) didn’t make the list as I found that one quite enjoyable. I’m assuming the ratings weren’t as good as I remembered.

 

[Monzo]

I’m a little surprised Evergreen (1985) didn’t make the list as I found that one quite enjoyable. I’m assuming the ratings weren’t as good as I remembered.

Polls in here only give 15 choices, so I included 15 most watched miniseries. Evergreen had a 22.0 rating by the way, so it was indeed a hit.

 

[Alexis Colby Carrington]

I watched V
My mum watched Roots, The Thornbirds, Lace and Brides of Christ

 

[lbf522]

I grew up watching the mini series and enjoyed them. I loved Roots, The Thornbirds, North and South, and the Winds of War. Shame they don't to miniseries anymore.

 

[Crimson]

As a kid, I loved V and its sequel; although when I watched it again as an adult, I found it rather slow and dry. NORTH & SOUTH (both parts) is my favorite of the 80s mini-series; a good balance of quasi-history and trashy melodrama.

I've tried watching SHOGUN and THE THORN BIRDS but lost interest in them after a single episode.

 

[Angela Channing]

From the list I watched Roots, The Thorn Birds, Roots: The Next Generations, Rich Man, Poor Man, V and Backstairs at the White House. Some I watched when they were broadcast on TV in the UK and some I watched on DVD.

 

[Chris2]

We watched Winds of War, Thorn Birds, Master of the Game (a lot of fun!), Celebrity (more fun!), If Tomorrow Comes, V/Final Battle. We watched North and South too but not the whole thing. It was overlong an a little dull at times.

 

[Willie Oleson]

All of them except for Roots Next Generation, Holocaust and Backstairs At The White House (never heard of it).

But where's CENTENNIAL? How can that not be on the list of most popular mini-series in America?

 

[Monzo]

But where's CENTENNIAL? How can that not be on the list of most popular mini-series in America?

Centennial wasn't a hit. In retrospect it is said that scheduling was the reason it didn't fare well in ratings. It took NBC 4 months to air 12 episodes. Sometimes Centennial was off schedule for two weeks, then for three weeks, even for four weeks, so viewers lost interest or didn't know when it was airing.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Sometimes Centennial was off schedule for two weeks, then for three weeks, even for four weeks

Why did it happen this way?

 

[Crimson]

I feel like that, in some capacity, was a problem with a lot of the 80s mini-series. The networks often seemed to struggle with how to program a mini -- concurrently over a week? Weekly? Sporadically? American TV in those days was pretty rigid in its scheduling; audiences were conditioned to watch a show once a week for months on end, and mini-series were outliers.

 

[Willie Oleson]

American TV in those days was pretty rigid in its scheduling; audiences were conditioned to watch a show once a week for months on end

Interesting observation. I honestly don't remember how it worked over here, did it interrupt a "season" of a popular prime time series or were they shown before or after those seasons? I only remember that they were usually introduced with a lot of pomp and ceremony. Some TV announcers really knew how to sell it and I was hanging on their every word. I loved it.

 

[Karin Schill]

I've only watched the Thornbirds and North & South out of that list. I first watched North & South in reruns in the 90s, which we taped. Then I've rewatched it at least once more on VHS and last year I rewatched it on DVD. It was better than I remembered. (Except for book three which was so bad that I had forgotten what happened in it!) But yeah I love North & South. It had an excellent cast, nice characters, interesting historical portrayal of the Civil War and at the center of the story is really this friendship between two families from the north and the south.

I watched Thornbirds on DVD about ten years ago. I've rewatched parts of it later with my grandma. It was one of her favorites.

Another mini-series I've enjoyed was "Scarlett" (1994). I'm a little surprised it didn't make the list considering it was a follow up to the iconic movie "Gone With The Wind" (1939).

 

[AndyB2008]

As a kid, I loved V and its sequel; although when I watched it again as an adult, I found it rather slow and dry. NORTH & SOUTH (both parts) is my favorite of the 80s mini-series; a good balance of quasi-history and trashy melodrama.

I've tried watching SHOGUN and THE THORN BIRDS but lost interest in them after a single episode.

I would take the V miniseries anyday compared to that horrible ABC reboot.

Centennial wasn't a hit. In retrospect it is said that scheduling was the reason it didn't fare well in ratings. It took NBC 4 months to air 12 episodes. Sometimes Centennial was off schedule for two weeks, then for three weeks, even for four weeks, so viewers lost interest or didn't know when it was airing.

Not exactly a miniseries, but NBC did the same to their Dark Shadows remake in 1991 with the late Ben Cross, Joanna Going and Lysette Anthony.

The premiere got decent ratings, but then the Gulf War broke out, so NBC would either not air or reschedule the DS episodes in order to accommodate NBC News Specials. (The same happened to the soap opera Generations before it went off air, where news specials would preempt it).

That in the process hurt the ratings of Dark Shadows and it lasted just one season.

 

[Monzo]

Another mini-series I've enjoyed was "Scarlett" (1994). I'm a little surprised it didn't make the list considering it was a follow up to the iconic movie "Gone With The Wind" (1939).

Scarlett had a 18.6 rating. It was successful, 2nd most miniseries of the 90's behind Gulliver's Travels which had a 19.3 rating.

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you for the info. So it seems like Scarlett just fell below this list of most watched mini-series.

 

[Sarah Danner]

Centennial wasn't a hit. In retrospect it is said that scheduling was the reason it didn't fare well in ratings. It took NBC 4 months to air 12 episodes. Sometimes Centennial was off schedule for two weeks, then for three weeks, even for four weeks, so viewers lost interest or didn't know when it was airing.

Seeing how it was a 26-hour mini-series, it must've given NBC fits when it started tanking in the ratings.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Seeing how it was a 26-hour mini-series, it must've given NBC fits when it started tanking in the ratings.

Well that would've been their fault for not giving it a regular time slot.

 

[Rove]

Shame they don't to miniseries anymore.

I think if commercial networks wish to survive an ever increasing changing television landscape they should embrace the mini-series concept. A mini series has a beginning, middle and end. Viewers are going in with knowledge this will have a conclusion and will be prepared to invest. I'm not sure why networks are so reluctant to at least try the concept.