8 Near-Perfect Netflix Miniseries With One Enormous Fatal Flaw

There have been many fantastic miniseries on Netflix in the last decade. Many of them can easily be called perfect, but can anything truly be perfect? They all have some flaws that prevent them from being deemed downright perfection.

It’s easy to nit-pick, of course, and the reality is that all these Netflix miniseries are pretty darn flawless. However, each one has one enormous fatal flaw that is tough to ignore. While each show received very little criticism, one thing about each of them stands out.

‘Adolescence’ (2025)

Adolescence is raw, unsettling, and disturbing, to say the least. However, you’re supposed to feel uncomfortable while watching the show, so that isn’t its fatal flaw. The problem is that the series doesn’t show more of Jamie’s (Owen Cooper) story. From the opening moment when he’s arrested to Episode 3, which finds Briony (Erin Doherty) assessing him (the best TV episode of 2025), he’s electrifying. It’s no surprise that Cooper won several awards for the breakout role, including the Best Supporting Actor Emmy and, most recently, the Actor Award. However, while the story is about him, we don’t see enough of it.

Of course, it can be argued that the story is really about the impact his actions have on his family, notably on his father Eddie (Stephen Graham), who won an Emmy for Best Actor, and his mother Manda (Christine Tremarco). Still, fans were left wondering what happened to Jamie. For example, how does he handle being incarcerated? Given how incredible Episode 3 is, we could have easily seen another episode after Jamie pleads guilty and is sentenced.

‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)

The fatal flaw in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix horror series Midnight Mass is that it’s a miniseries at all. It definitely could have been a series with multiple seasons. The Gothic miniseries centers around a mysterious priest who arrives on an island community at the same time as a former resident who returns after a four-year prison sentence. Suddenly, supernatural things begin to happen.

Many have praised Hamish Linklater’s performance as he draws you into his character in a transfixing manner. The show explores topics like grief, death, addiction, faith, and free will, and features a unique spin on the tired vampire genre. Given the accolades given to Flanagan for his beautiful show, it would have been great if the story had continued.

‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ (2024)

Netflix

While Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has some factual inaccuracies, one element in particular took things too far into soapy territory. Despite there being no evidence that the allegedly abused young men had a sexual relationship, the biographical crime drama anthology series alludes to this, even in its promotional poster.

There was no logical reason to include this. Since the series is based on a disturbing, tragic event, diverting too much from the core story makes the show feel less real. Otherwise, it’s a well-crafted take on a true crime that dominated headlines.

‘Baby Reindeer’ (2024)

Yes, Baby Reindeer is meant to be uncomfortable, and it is. In some ways, it dives too much into the uncomfortable. There are raw depictions of disturbing events, from Darrien’s (Tom Goodman-Hill) assault of Donny (Richard Gadd) to the heart-wrenching monologue Donny delivers during his stand-up performance. The series doesn’t let up or give you time to breathe and take them in. So, you might need to take a break after you finish each episode.

From the creepy moments of Martha (Jessica Gunning) stalking Donny, to Donny pleasuring himself to images of Martha and Martha insulting Teri (Nava Mau), Baby Reindeer has some unforgettable and tough moments. Of course, this is what makes the series such a deep, powerful commentary on assault, shame, guilt, and self-hatred, especially since it’s based on a true story. Viewers don’t get any reprieves, despite the series being categorized as a black comedy, thriller, and drama series.

‘The Beast In Me’ (2025)

Netflix

While The Beast in Me is a well-acted series with great performances, there is one flaw in the psychological crime thriller… or, actually, two: its pace is too slow, and it’s too predictable. From the very first moment, it’s evident that Nile (Matthew Rhys) is not a good person and probably guilty. Rhys does a wonderful job of showing the different layers of the character, but despite the inevitability of the story’s direction, it takes a while to get there with little payoff before it does.

Although the show gets off to a slow start, the plot moves along so rapidly in the final episodes that you feel like you blinked and missed the build-up to the big twist. While there’s a lot to appreciate about The Beast in Me, some elements don’t quite work.

‘Sirens’ (2025)

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Sirens falls into guilty pleasure territory, although Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Kevin Bacon, and Julianne Moore deliver great performances. All five episodes of Sirens center around the rebellious Devon (Fahy), who heads to a remote island to check on her younger sister Simone (Alcock) when she suspects there’s something fishy going on with her boss Kiki (Moore). Things get weirder from there.

The dark comedy features too many tropes, like the dueling “bad sister, good sister,” the flaky supposed cult leader, the rags-to-riches story of a young woman with a sordid past, and the charming, wealthy but absent husband. It’s still fun, still entertaining, and it still draws you in. But since there are so many tropes layered on top of each other, you can’t help but roll your eyes.

‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023)

Netflix

The Gothic horror drama miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher brilliantly weaves Edgar Allan Poe’s worked into a thematic storyline that explores the life of corrupt pharmaceutical CEO Roderick (Bruce Greenwood), and how his own paranoid fears are his ultimate demise. The massive flaw is that while the series tells an interesting story throughout, it becomes repetitive and formulaic. Once you figure out what’s going on, you expect what’s coming next. So, the show isn’t as tense as it’s meant to be.

Of course, when you watch any horror movie and see someone in the shower or entering a creepy house looking unbothered, you know something bad is about to happen. However, none of the deaths in The Fall of the House of Usher are surprising because you know they’re coming. With a few more unpredictable moments, this flaw could have been rectified.

‘Zero Day’ (2025)

Netflix

Zero Day sets out to tell a political tale of corruption, media manipulation, and societal unrest as the government tries to figure out who has conducted a massive cyberattack. For the most part, it’s a compelling story with solid performances from Robert De Niro, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, and Matthew Modine. However, there’s one massive fatal flaw: subplots that are never truly resolved.

For example, George (De Niro) suffers from hallucinations that make him appear to be mentally unstable. We learn this is thanks to a neurological device called Proteus. However, we don’t get a resolution about who created it or why. We also keep hearing the phrase “Who Killed Bambi,” but the explanation leaves a lot to be desired. While these aren’t plot holes, they’re diversions from the main plot that aren’t resolved in any meaningful way. Zero Day gets its point across effectively with some great moments that serve as social commentary on current times. However, the disjointed narrative, and these nonsensical subplots, ruins what could have been a stronger story.