Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Why we typically say "TV series", but we don't say "TV miniseries" (i.e., instead of this, we simply say "miniseries")?
Does it mean, that there are "theatrical" miniseries as well as "TV" miniseries?1
1 A television film is a feature-length motion picture that is produced for, and originally distributed by or to, a television network, in contrast to theatrical films, which are made explicitly for initial showing in movie theaters.
It's more of a shortening of terms. Its full name / phrase should be "Television Mini-Series' (or 'Miniseries', if you're American like that). We simply say 'mini-series' in the same way that we simply say 'series' instead of 'TV series'.
According to Wikipedia, "a mini-series is a television program that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes." To elaborate: a miniseries is distinguished from an ongoing television series: the latter do not usually have a predetermined number of episodes and may continue for several years.
Usually, an easy way to determine whether it is a series or mini-series is whether it advertises 'Seasons' of itself. If it intends / has seasons, it is a series. Without it, it's a miniseries.
In terms of whether there are theatrical miniseries as well, I'd say no. Movies are usually standalone features, and even when there is a direct following movie it is referred to as a sequel rather than part of a miniseries.
Some examples of each include:
