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Best TV Series of the 1980s

Top 500 most popular series that started in the 1980s

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Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

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Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood
Pacing & structure
Humor style
Themes & subject matter
Characters & perspective
Emotional payoff
Craft & style
Format & audience
Viewing-culture clusters
Intensity & content character
500 series (top 500 shown)

Santa Barbara

★ 5.7
3K 2137 1984–1993
Drama · Romance

Fauji

★ 8.0
3K 13 1988–1988
Action · Drama

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

★ 7.3
3K 27 1981–1982
Adventure · Animation · Comedy

Too Close for Comfort

★ 6.6
3K 129 1980–1987
Comedy

Entertainment Tonight

★ 3.6
3K 6427 1981–present
News · Talk-Show

Miss Marple: The Body in the Library

★ 7.7
3K 3 1984–1984
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Vruc vetar

★ 9.1
3K 10 1980–1980
Comedy

David the Gnome

★ 7.4
3K 26 1985–1986
Adventure · Animation · Family

The Young Riders

★ 7.7
3K 67 1989–1992
Drama · Romance · Western

Heathcliff

★ 6.5
3K 26 1980–1981
Animation · Comedy · Family

Miss Marple: Nemesis

★ 7.9
3K 2 1987–1987
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced

★ 8.0
3K 3 1985–1985
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Faerie Tale Theatre

★ 8.3
3K 27 1982–1987
Adventure · Comedy · Family

The Deliberate Stranger

★ 7.3
3K 2 1986–1986
Crime · Drama · Thriller

48 Hours

★ 7.5
3K 1505 1988–present
Crime · Documentary

The Martian Chronicles

★ 6.5
3K 3 1980–1980
Drama · Mystery · Sci-Fi

Bergerac

★ 6.9
3K 87 1981–1991
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Birds of a Feather

★ 6.2
3K 129 1989–2020
Comedy

Kate & Allie

★ 6.9
3K 122 1984–1989
Comedy

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

★ 8.4
3K 52 1987–1988
Action · Adventure · Animation

Denver, the Last Dinosaur

★ 6.4
3K 50 1988–1990
Adventure · Animation · Comedy

Alfred J. Kwak

★ 7.8
3K 52 1989–1991
Adventure · Animation · Drama

Spitting Image

★ 7.4
3K 136 1984–1996
Comedy

The Day of the Triffids

★ 7.3
3K 6 1981–1981
Drama · Horror · Sci-Fi
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