Richard Chamberlain’s 17 Miniseries and TV Movies Ranked — And Where to Watch Them
Richard Chamberlain, who died on March 29 at the age of 90, was once known as “the king of the miniseries.” In the years following his first star turn as the title character of Dr. Kildare, Chamberlain starred in over a dozen made-for-TV films and miniseries, where he portrayed everyone from the world’s most famous lover to Jason Bourne, over a decade before Matt Damon tackled the role. Though he was U.S. born and raised (and, in fact, a U.S. military veteran), Chamberlain often made good use of his aristocratic looks by playing British or European historical figures — though he played a lot of American originals, as well.
Chamberlain had an incredibly lengthy body of work and acted into his 80s — his final credit was in the 2018 horror anthology Nightmare Cinema, where he appeared in Joe Dante’s segment of the film. From within that massive filmography, we’ve pulled 17 of his biggest TV movies and miniseries, along with where to watch them — though be forewarned, a few exist only as physical media.
17. Night of the Hunter (1991)
Everett Collection
Chamberlain tackled the role of evil preacher Harry Powell, the part that Robert Mitchum made famous in the original 1955 film version. This film is incredibly hard to get your hands on — if you’re able to play U.K. DVDs, your best bet is eBay, but otherwise, you may be out of luck.
16. Casanova (1987)
Everett Collection
15. Dream West (1986)
(c)CBS/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.
14. Ordeal in the Arctic (1993)
Everett Collection
Ordeal in the Arctic dealt with a real-life event that had occurred just two years earlier: the crash-landing of a Canadian military plane in the Arctic. Chamberlain starred as the pilot who accidentally downs the plane and must try to keep the survivors alive until help arrives.
13. F. Scott Fitzgerald and ‘The Last of the Belles (1974)
Everett Collection
Chamberlain played the famous novelist in this historical TV movie; Blythe Danner tackled the role of Fitzgerald’s troubled wife, Zelda, while Susan Sarandon, one year before her breakthrough in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, portrayed Ailie Calhoun, a fictional character in a short story Fitzgerald penned.
12. Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole (1983)
© CBS / Courtesy: Everett Collection
In this, Chamberlain’s Frederick Cook competes against Rod Steiger‘s Lt. Robert Peary to be the first to get to the North Pole — a situation that creates conflict back home when both men claim to have been the winner of the competition.
Stream it on Tubi or the Roku Channel
11. Blackbeard (2006)
© Hallmark Entertainment / Courtesy: Everett Collection
This Hallmark Channel show was Chamberlain’s final miniseries credit; at 72, he played 18th century North Carolina governor Charles Eden, a foil to Angus Macfayden’s Blackbeard the pirate. Many noted the series’ similarities to the 1935 Errol Flynn film Captain Blood.
Stream it on YouTube Movies
10. The Woman I Love (1972)
Everett Collection
Chamberlain and Dunaway had their first match-up in this made-for-TV movie about Wallis Simpson (Chamberlain played King Edward VIII, the man who abdicated the throne for her). They would go on to appear together in both The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), as well as 1987’s Casanova. Getting your hands on a legal copy of this is probably about as difficult as marrying the king of England — it’s not streaming, and VHS copies seem hard to come by.
9. Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999)
(c) Von Zerneck Sertner Films/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.
Chamberlain starred alongside Lauren Bacall in this four-episode biopic series about then-recently deceased heiress Duke. Bacall plays Duke in old age, while future Heroes star Hayden Panettiere played young Duke.
Stream it on Amazon Prime
8. The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996)
© Warner Brothers Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Chamberlain returned to one of his most celebrated roles in this series, which told the story of the Cleary family in the mid 1940s — a time period skipped over in the original film. Conceived after a 1993 rerun of the original series produced good ratings, this semi-sequel counts Chamberlain as the only original cast member to return; Amanda Donohue replaced Rachel Ward as heroine Meggie Cleary.
7. The Bourne Identity (1988)
Warner Brothers/Everett Collection
Yes, Matt Damon wasn’t the first actor to portray Robert Ludlum’s ex-CIA operative. Chamberlain grabbed the role in the miniseries adaptation of the 1980 novel The Bourne Identity; Jaclyn Smith costarred in this three-hour thriller series.
6. The Count of Monte Cristo (1975)
Everett Collection
This adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel netted Chamberlain a Best Actor nod at the Emmys, as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination for costar Trevor Howard. The film was released in theaters in Europe, but only graced TV screens in the U.S.; however, it was successful enough that it led to other classic literature adaptations, including Chamberlain’s follow-up, The Man in the Iron Mask.
5. The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)
Everett Collection
Chamberlain played King Louis XIV and Jenny Agutter costarred as his mistress Louise, in the actor’s second Alexandre Dumas adaptation. Though it was a made-for-TV film, it had high production values and represented the feature debut of director Mike Newell; Newell would go on to acclaim as the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
4. Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story (1985)
Everett Collection
3. Centennial (1978-79)
Universal Television/Courtesy: Everett Collection
This 12-episode miniseries had a massive ensemble cast that included Timothy Dalton, Raymond Burr, Mark Harmon, Lynn Redgrave and Merle Haggard, among others — all gathered to portray 150 or so years in the life of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado. Based on a James A. Michener book of the same name, it got Chamberlain a Best Actor nomination at the 1980 Golden Globes for his portrayal of trapper Alexander McKeag.
Stream it on Starz (subscription required)
2. The Thorn Birds (1983)
Warner Bros. Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Adapted from the wildly popular novel by Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds followed four decades in the life of the Cleary family, who travel to Australia from their native New Zealand to become ranchers — and the forbidden love that develops between Meggie Cleary (Rachel Ward) and her family’s priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart (Chamberlain).
Another tremendous success with both viewers and reviewers, The Thorn Birds saw Chamberlain, Piper Laurie, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley and Christopher Plummer get nominated at the Emmys; Stanwyck, Kiley and Simmons took home awards. Chamberlain, meanwhile, won his third Golden Globe; Stanwyck won a Globe, too, and the series won Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.
Buy it on Fandango at Home or Amazon Prime
1. Shōgun (1980)
Paramount Pictures. Courtesy: Everett Collection.
After the blockbuster success of 1977’s Roots, networks went all in on historical epic miniseries — and one of the most successful to come out of that boom was Shōgun. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name, the series follows 17th century British sailor John Blackthorne (Chamberlain), whose ship wrecks in feudal Japan; taken captive by samurai, Blackthorne finds himself embroiled in the political struggles of Yoshi Toranaga (Japanese cinema superstar Toshiro Mifune).
Shōgun gave NBC its highest ratings in history at that point; 32.9% of all American households watched at least some of the series. Chamberlain got an Emmy nod and a Best Actor Golden Globe out of the series, which many believe helped spawn an interest in Japanese culture among Americans.
It also won the Emmy for Best Limited Series and the Golden Globe for Best Series — a winning streak carried on by the 2024 reboot of the series, which swept the Emmys with wins for Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Hiroyuki Sanada and Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Anna Sawai. Long unavailable online, it has recently become available for purchase on a few streaming platforms.
Buy it on Amazon Prime or YouTube
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