5 Addictive Paramount Plus Miniseries You Can Watch In One Weekend

Paramount+ might be the hotspot to stop and make your way through just about anything with Taylor Sheridan's name on, but there are a bunch of other shows that don't have uber macho characters yelling at each other. We're not talking about the lengthy entries all lined up on the streaming service, either. We get that life can be busy, and that's why we've combed through some of the short and sweet stories that are worth a look. 

Stop feeling left behind with everything going on with the "Yellowstone" family, or the bajillion "Star Trek" shows seeking out new storylines and new civilizations. Instead, we've scanned the streaming service for shows that you can make your way through during a single day on the sofa, or maybe even a really long flight. From Stephen King scarefests to blockbuster franchises you didn't even know existed, it's a very varied watchlist we've found under that world-famous mountain, and we're pretty sure there's something for everyone. In fact, there's even something for those uninitiated with "Yellowstone" that can be a great place to get things started. Just be prepared to feel absolutely broken by the end of it.

The laws of online entertainment dictate that any list of Paramount+ streaming shows must include Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" universe in some capacity. Fortunately,  there's a prequel miniseries drawn from the history pages of the Dutton dynasty that stands head and shoulders above the rest, and it follows the initial discovery of the land that would become home to the Yellowstone ranch. "1883" was a miniseries released in 2021 and follows James and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, respectively) as they travel across the Great Plains with their family to start a new life after the Civil War. It's a road paved with danger and leading to immense tragedy, all to lay the foundations for one of the most popular families in television history.

While there's no question that "Yellowstone" made household names of the current generation of the Dutton family, "1883" has managed to capture something particularly special that it or other spin-offs have not. Sheridan's introduction to the Dutton family is a beautiful and bleak road movie, with a real-life married couple leading the way. It's ingenious casting to have McGraw and Hill play James and Margaret, with some extra help from Sam Elliott. The real star of the show, though, is Isabel May as Faith Dutton, whose narration runs through the entire series and leaves a lasting impact even after her exit.

"The Stand" is one of Stephen King's most beloved and massive works, which arrived on the small screen in 1994 as a TV movie, starring Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe, and Molly Ringwald. 26 years later, it reappeared in a longer format, admittedly at what couldn't have been a worse time. Made for pandemic binge viewing, the story begins with a world-ruining virus called Captain Trips, which spreads and decimates 99% of the population. Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård), a feared villain who appears across multiple Stephen King stories, seeks to build a new world from the chaos that remains, gathering a small band of survivors drawn together in a war for all humanity.

Facing off against him are a great collection of stars, including James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, Jovan Adepo, Henrique Zaga, and Greg Kinnear. The 2020 version of "The Stand" makes for an entertaining watch, exploring the terrain of a post-apocalyptic world and the social collapse that follows. That's all before the gradual otherworldly elements come into play, giving Skarsgård a chance to shine as well as he does. The same can be said of Goldberg as the herald of the heroes, Mother Abigail. If you're a fan of "The Last of Us," "Fallout," or other end-of-the-world tales, then this one-and-done series is absolutely worth a look.

Like your rom-coms with some extra cheese and in a bashfully British backdrop? Then make sure to book a viewing for "The Flatshare." Based on the book of the same name by Beth O' Leary, the show follows two single and struggling Londoners — Tiffy (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Leon (Anthony Welsh) — who find themselves sharing the same flat and bed, but due to their hectic lives, never actually meet. He's a nurse who looks after kids with terminal illnesses, and she's a struggling journalist still sore from a recent break-up. Instead, their only way of communicating is through post-its they leave for each other, which gradually sparks a romance that's as ludicrous as it is lovely.

If you've fallen for the likes of "One Day" or the fantasy lifestyle of "Emily in Paris," there's no doubt that "The Flatshare" is worth a viewing. Sure, it might make light of London's living crisis, but Findlay and Welsh make for a compelling pair caught up in this romance that feels plucked from the early Aughts. It's also short and sugary sweet at only six episodes. They don't really make movies like this anymore, so just be glad you can get one on television instead.

One for the kids and "Sonic" fans the world over, "Knuckles" has Idris Elba reprising his role as the hard-fisted hero that made his debut in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." Sandwiched between the second and third film, "Knuckles" sees our hero team up with Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally), who learns the way of the Echidna warrior. This tough training regime couldn't come at a better time, as two former G.U.N. agents are on the hunt for Knuckles under orders of a new villain that is after his otherworldly power.

If you're already familiar with the "Sonic" franchise and its wild character list, then you should feel right at home with "Knuckles," as it's just as frantic and family-friendly as the hedgehog's big-screen outings. While Jim Carrey's absence is clearly felt (having become more of a scene-stealer than Sonic himself), there's enough from the likes of Kid Cudi and Ellie Taylor as cliched henchmen, Mason and Willoughby, and their boss, The Buyer ("Game of Thrones'" Rory McCann) to keep interest. Throw in the voice talents of Christopher Lloyd as Knuckles' former mentor, Chief Pachacamac, and Cary Elwes as Wade's estranged father and bowling star "Pistol" Pete Whipple, and you've got a surprisingly fun time-filler that packs a fairly entertaining punch.

In 2022, Paramount made a show that no reasonable fan of "The Godfather" could refuse, and the result was an impressive look into the creation of one of the greatest movies ever made. Created by Michael Tolkin, "The Offer" is a biographical drama that chronicles the fascinating journey of bringing the Corleone family's story to the big screen. "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Whiplash" star Miles Teller plays producer Albert S. Ruddy, who saw promise in Francis Ford Coppola (here brilliantly played by Dan Fogler) and his adaptation of the Mario Puzo pageturner, going to extreme lengths to make the movie that fans now adore. Needless to say, they were onto a hit, and Tolkin's tale takes us behind the camera and the highly pressured mission to get the job done.

Besides Teller and Fogler making the greatest gangster movie of all time, there are also some exceptional supporting performances that, just like the show, don't get enough recognition. Juno Temple of "Ted Lasso" fame stepping into the shoes of Bettye McCartt, Ruddy's secretary turned talent agent, as well as Giovanni Ribisi as real-life mobster, Joe Colombo, who held sway over just how much insight into the world of organized crime would make its way onto the screen. Whether you're a fan of "The Godfather" or not, this is a great one-time watch that shouldn't be ignored.