There have been some excellent miniseries throughout 2025. While some of them are set in the present day, there are others that are set somewhere in the past. These historical fiction miniseries are going to be the best thing to tune into instead of the ball drop tonight, New Year’s Eve 2025.
We’ve got a little bit of everything. Do you want something based on real life? Maybe you want to check out a telling of a story that may or may not have happened. We’re only choosing miniseries for this, so it doesn’t include the shows that could only end up being one season because they haven’t been renewed.
There are some great shows out there that only have one season right now, though. We’d highly recommend Outlander: Blood of My Blood, The Abandons, and Last Samurai Standing depending on your interests. Most on the list were released in 2025, but there is one that you may have slept on that you need to check out right away.
Death By Lightning
One of the most recent miniseries is Death By Lightning, which tells the story of the assassination of President James Garfield. He had only been in office for three months when he was shot in the back, by a man who originally wanted to support him. Due to Garfield turning down his offers for continued “help,” Charles Guiteau decided that Vice President Chester A. Arthur needed the position instead.
The three-part miniseries does a great job of showing up the unexpected rise of Garfield in politics. We then get to see how he reacted to it, how his wife reacted to it, and the lack of support he had from his own party members. On the other side of the coin is the story of Guiteau and how he thought his name would go down in history — and has actually been mostly forgotten about.
Death By Lightning is available to stream on Netflix.
Outrageous
BritBox has some excellent period dramas, and one of them is Outrageous. The six-episode miniseries is based on the true story of the Mitford sisters, six sisters who refuse to play by the rules that the world has set for them. It’s set in the 1930s, so you can imagine the lives they’re supposed to run, but they’re looking for anything but.
It is one of those shows that dramatizes a controversial family. However, it does it in style and with respect to the sisters that they deserve. We can’t overlook some of the messaging at the time being pushed around, and how they broke away from the mold.
Outrageous is on BritBox to stream in full.
1883
Finally, it’s one from back in 2022, and it’s set in the world of Yellowstone. Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about the Dutton family, as this takes us all the way to the start. 1883 picks up with James and Margaret Dutton traveling west with their family in the hope of finding a better world.
Things take turns along the way, including the fact that they end up traveling with some German settlers to protect them and their cattle. They face some heavy losses on the way, but it’s the story of how they get to Montana and establish what would become the Yellowstone Ranch. If you have watched Yellowstone or 1923, there are some great Easter eggs along the way.
1883 is available to stream on Paramount+.
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