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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Action TV Series of 1981

31 Action series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Action series All series from 1981

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Genres

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

Action 31 Adult 0 Adventure 17 Animation 14 Biography 0 Comedy 2 Crime 5 Documentary 0 Drama 11 Family 1 Fantasy 0 Game-Show 0 History 5 Horror 0 Music 0 Musical 0 Mystery 0 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 0 Sci-Fi 1 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 0 War 0 Western 0

Decades

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

2020s 2764 2010s 3051 2000s 1559 1990s 843 1980s 431 1970s 271 1960s 159 1950s 43 1940s 6 1930s 2 1920s 1 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 183 2025 418 2024 421 2023 473 2022 431 2021 435 2020 403 2019 345 2018 368 2017 371 2016 329 2015 321 2014 301 2013 301 2012 263 2011 257 2010 195 2009 212 2008 189 2007 196 2006 148 2005 152 2004 148 2003 140 2002 123 2001 132 2000 119 1999 116 1998 114 1997 108 1996 101 1995 81 1994 91 1993 65 1992 48 1991 63 1990 56 1989 60 1988 40 1987 48 1986 45 1985 53 1984 56 1983 43 1982 26 1981 31 1980 29 1979 41 1978 22 1977 31 1976 32 1975 19 1974 32 1973 34 1972 27 1971 23 1970 10 1969 16 1968 20 1967 27 1966 33 1965 13 1964 15 1963 14 1962 6 1961 8 1960 7 1959 9 1958 8 1957 3 1956 4 1955 5 1954 2 1953 2 1952 4 1950 6 1949 4 1944 1 1940 1 1938 1 1937 1 1929 1

Tags

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

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 0 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 0 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 0

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

Tone & mood

Bleak 0 Gritty 0 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 0 Cozy 0 Wholesome 1 Melancholic 0 Tense 0 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 1 Campy 0 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 1 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 0 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 4 Serialized 0 Procedural 1 Mystery box 0 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 0 Sprawling saga 0 Tight limited run 0 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 0 Absurdist 1 Satirical 0 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 0 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 0 Raunchy 0 Parody 1 Ironic & meta 0

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 1 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 0 Espionage 0 War & military 0 Family saga 0 Coming of age 0 Workplace 0 School & campus 0 Love story 0 Friendship 0 Found family 0 Survival 0 Post-apocalyptic 0 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 0 Space & sci-fi 0 Near-future tech 0 Time travel 0 High fantasy 0 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 0 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 0 Faith & religion 0 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 0 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 0 Big city life 0 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 0 Social commentary 0 Philosophical 0 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 0

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 0 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 0 Central duo 0 Strong female lead 0 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 0 Working class 0 Elites & privilege 0 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 0 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 0 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 0 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 0 Visually striking 0 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 0 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 0 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 2 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 0 Event miniseries 0 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 0 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 0 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 1 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 0 Turkish drama 0 Indian TV 0

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 0 Disturbing 0 Sexually explicit 0 Family-safe 2 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 3

Sort

31 series

The Fall Guy

11K 112 1981–1986

Episodic · Easy watching

Simon & Simon

7K 156 1981–1989

Episodic · Banter chemistry

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

5K 24 1981–1986

Kids & family · Family-safe

Danger Mouse

4K 94 1981–1992

Parody · Kids & family

Ulysses 31

3K 27 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Masada

3K 4 1981–1981

Action · Drama · History

Ninja Hattori

2K 694 1981–1987

Action · Animation · Comedy

Urusei Yatsura

2K 195 1981–1986

Action · Adventure · Animation

Manga Mito Kômon

725 46 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

The New Adventures of Zorro

352 13 1981–1981

Action · Adventure · Animation

Walking Tall

341 7 1981–1981

Action · Crime · Drama

Beast King GoLion

229 52 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Code Red

227 19 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Drama

Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan

174 50 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Drama

Poslednji cin

125 4 1981–1982

Action · Drama · History

Strike Force

113 20 1981–1982

Action · Crime · Drama

Sindikat-2

81 6 1981–1981

Action · Crime · History

GoShogun

77 26 1981–1981

Action · Animation · Sci-Fi

God Mars

65 64 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Fang of the Sun Dougram

65 75 1981–1983

Action · Adventure · Animation

Al-Ragol Allazi Faqd Zakertoh Marratein

42 7 1981–1981

Galaxy Cyclone Braiger

33 39 1981–1982

Action · Animation · Crime

Ogon senshi Gold Raitan

31 52 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

The Legendary Fok

27 20 1981–1981

Action · History

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Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

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