Bonnie and Clyde

Sunday night a four-hour, two-part Bonnie & Clyde miniseries debuts on Lifetime, History and A&E and it’s the latest evidence that the success of History’s Hatfields & McCoys, which drew more than 14 million viewers in 2012, has helped spur a miniseries revival. Several similar, but not identical, formats are also getting ready to make an impact in the television landscape, but good luck trying to identify their defining characteristics. Even network executives are using the terms “miniseries,” “event series” and “limited series” somewhat interchangeably.