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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 Adventure TV Series of 1981

49 Adventure series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Adventure 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 17 Adult 0 Adventure 49 Animation 23 Biography 1 Comedy 7 Crime 1 Documentary 0 Drama 13 Family 8 Fantasy 0 Game-Show 1 History 3 Horror 1 Music 0 Musical 0 Mystery 1 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 2 Sci-Fi 2 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 0 War 0 Western 1

Decades

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

2020s 2199 2010s 2530 2000s 1511 1990s 1063 1980s 641 1970s 514 1960s 341 1950s 110 1940s 9 1930s 1 1920s 1 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 117 2025 267 2024 365 2023 397 2022 358 2021 361 2020 334 2019 290 2018 336 2017 321 2016 304 2015 280 2014 224 2013 213 2012 190 2011 195 2010 177 2009 169 2008 150 2007 180 2006 166 2005 158 2004 143 2003 155 2002 138 2001 134 2000 118 1999 133 1998 127 1997 135 1996 119 1995 106 1994 101 1993 100 1992 82 1991 80 1990 80 1989 86 1988 48 1987 67 1986 67 1985 70 1984 69 1983 71 1982 57 1981 49 1980 57 1979 69 1978 48 1977 66 1976 53 1975 48 1974 51 1973 52 1972 59 1971 39 1970 29 1969 48 1968 45 1967 53 1966 50 1965 29 1964 34 1963 25 1962 12 1961 20 1960 25 1959 23 1958 14 1957 23 1956 11 1955 13 1954 11 1953 3 1952 7 1951 2 1950 3 1949 6 1944 2 1940 1 1938 1 1928 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 1 Cozy 0 Wholesome 2 Melancholic 0 Tense 1 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 4 Campy 1 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 3 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 0 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 5 Serialized 0 Procedural 0 Mystery box 0 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 0 Sprawling saga 0 Tight limited run 1 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 1 Absurdist 2 Satirical 1 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 1 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 1 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 0

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 1 Atmospheric 1 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 3 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 1 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 0 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 2 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 4 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 4

Sort

49 series

The Smurfs

24K 261 1981–1989

Kids & family · Family-safe

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

12K 6 1981–1981

Dry humor · Absurdist · British TV

The Fall Guy

11K 112 1981–1986

Episodic · Easy watching

The Greatest American Hero

7K 44 1981–1983

Campy · Episodic · Whimsical

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles

7K 2 1981–1981

Detective mystery · Atmospheric

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

5K 24 1981–1986

Kids & family · Family-safe

Danger Mouse

4K 94 1981–1992

Parody · Kids & family

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

3K 27 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Comedy

Ulysses 31

3K 27 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Spider-Man

2K 26 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Family

Urusei Yatsura

2K 195 1981–1986

Action · Adventure · Animation

Swiss Family Robinson

1K 50 1981–1981

Adventure · Animation · Family

Goliath Awaits

1K 2 1981–1981

Adventure · Drama · Romance

Belle and Sebastian

1K 52 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation

Hello! Sandy Bell

1K 47 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Romance

Blackstar

931 13 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Family

Manga Mito Kômon

725 46 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Silas

567 6 1981–1981

Adventure · Drama · Family

SuperBook

490 52 1981–1983

Adventure · Animation · Drama

The New Adventures of Zorro

352 13 1981–1981

Action · Adventure · Animation

Seagull Island

242 5 1981–present

Adventure · Drama · Horror

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

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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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