Ranking Every HBO Miniseries From Worst To Best
16. Olive Kitteridge
The classiest of affairs, this 2014 drama combined the heft of a Pulitzer prize winning novel by Elizabeth Strout and the award-laden acting of Frances McDormand, who gives a tour de force performance in this four part character study as the title character.
Olive Kitteridge is a brusque, no-nonsense woman living a fulfilling but unexceptional life in a small town in Maine. The series expands outward to shine a light on Olive’s family and life in her small town, where she’s a pillar of the community whether she likes it or not, and the wide net allows for great turns from Peter Jenkins, Bill Murray, and many more stellar performers.
But this is McDormand’s show ultimately, and while there’s nothing outwardly flashy about her character, this is a role only a performer of her calibre could do justice. Olive Kitteridge (the character) runs the risk of becoming parodically grouchy or plain dislikable, but McDormand captures a vulnerability and softens Olive at just the right moments to keep us engaged.
This isn’t an easy book to adapt, with the stories concerning small scale emotional matters, but everyone here does a terrific job, and the end result is engaging and heartfelt.