BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series

We've reached the big awards. Today's award is Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series!

Check out the nominees and winner from 2020

This year's nominees are...

THE GOOD LORD BIRD (Showtime)

THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (Netflix)

MARE OF EASTTOWN (HBO)

THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT (Netflix)

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (Amazon)

WANDAVISION (Disney+)

And the Winner Is...

THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT

Netflix

The Limited/Anthology Series category is a really strong one in 2021, probably stronger than comedy or drama overall. There was tough competition but the winner is the Netflix phenom The Queen's Gambit. When I first heard about Gambit and its premise, I would never have imagined it would become the sensation that it did. I assumed I would like it because it was a period drama but what made it transcendent was the performances and the way the stakes felt so high without being melodramatic. It was a unique and different story that was so well written and well directed. It also had a very strong cast led by the revelation that is Anya Taylor-Joy. The series made a lot of people discover or re-discover a love for chess but the actual brilliance of the series was it was not really about the chess while still feeling like it was about the chess. What I mean is the show was ultimately about its characters, specifically the lead character of Beth. But it didn't try to bite off more than was necessary. It didn't try to be about geopolitical forces and become a female Bobby Fischer. Its story was narrow in scope but deep in the characters and it was the best limited series of the 2020-21 season.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

Among many strong limited series, the biggest threat was Mare of Easttown. On its surface, it was just another season-long murder mystery plot that has been all over TV since True Detective. But thanks to a superstar cast and a well crafted story, it managed to not get very convoluted and have a satisfying conclusion. Those are two elements that are so much easier said than done. I'm not a big Marvel fan but their foray into TV series on Disney+ intrigued me because of the focus WandaVision had on the history of sitcoms. After watching the whole series, I'm still not sure how much I care about the MCU but I definitely have more interest than I did before thanks to Wanda's very interesting run. The Haunting of Bly Manor was an underrated limited series in the last season. It never focused too much on the horror elements and instead was a rich character drama. The Good Lord Bird was wacky at times but a load of fun over its seven episode run with the dynamite lead performance of my Best Actor winner, Ethan Hawke. Finally, I will admit that I found The Underground Railroad a real slog to get through. But I still appreciated the beauty of its production and the ambitious story it was trying to tell. Its scope alone was worthy of a nomination.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Comedy Series!