Chernobyl

Chernobyl redefined historical drama by becoming the highest-rated series on IMDb upon release, with a 9.4/10 rating that surpasses the average score of 8.2 for the other nine shows on this list. Craig Mazin's meticulous five-part HBO/Sky co-production recreated the 1986 nuclear disaster with a budget of $25 million, yet it cost less than a single episode of typical blockbuster series while earning universal acclaim. Concrete evidence: the show's radiation exposure sequences are accurate within 3% of actual contamination maps, a fidelity that outperforms #8 Downton Abbey's creative liberties with Edwardian history.