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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 Comedy TV Series of 1981

128 Comedy series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Comedy series All series from 1981

Filter & sort

Genres

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

Action 2 Adult 0 Adventure 7 Animation 21 Biography 0 Comedy 128 Crime 2 Documentary 0 Drama 10 Family 22 Fantasy 5 Game-Show 5 History 0 Horror 2 Music 7 Musical 1 Mystery 2 News 1 Reality-TV 0 Romance 1 Sci-Fi 4 Short 0 Sport 1 Talk-Show 1 Thriller 0 War 0 Western 1

Decades

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

2020s 8530 2010s 14143 2000s 6739 1990s 3522 1980s 1870 1970s 1169 1960s 658 1950s 315 1940s 38 1930s 2 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 443 2025 1042 2024 1203 2023 1373 2022 1398 2021 1524 2020 1547 2019 1457 2018 1444 2017 1632 2016 1628 2015 1544 2014 1399 2013 1459 2012 1389 2011 1208 2010 983 2009 943 2008 825 2007 795 2006 803 2005 714 2004 620 2003 594 2002 521 2001 484 2000 440 1999 445 1998 434 1997 418 1996 361 1995 390 1994 320 1993 309 1992 275 1991 278 1990 292 1989 255 1988 218 1987 228 1986 193 1985 177 1984 191 1983 166 1982 167 1981 128 1980 147 1979 148 1978 135 1977 126 1976 120 1975 121 1974 113 1973 103 1972 117 1971 101 1970 85 1969 96 1968 79 1967 76 1966 73 1965 69 1964 61 1963 56 1962 42 1961 57 1960 49 1959 42 1958 25 1957 39 1956 34 1955 31 1954 33 1953 25 1952 29 1951 21 1950 36 1949 20 1948 10 1947 4 1946 1 1944 2 1943 1 1936 2

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 1 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 1

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 2 Cozy 1 Wholesome 3 Melancholic 0 Tense 0 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 3 Campy 1 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 4 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 0 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 6 Serialized 0 Procedural 0 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 1 Absurdist 1 Satirical 1 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 1 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 2 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 0

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 0 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 2 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 1 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 1 Elites & privilege 0 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 0 Banter chemistry 0

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 0 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 2 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 1 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 0 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 2 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 1 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 3 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 6

Sort

128 series

Only Fools and Horses

66K 64 1981–2003

British TV · Working class

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

Gimme a Break!

4K 137 1981–1987

Sitcom · Warm humor · Family-safe

Postman Pat

4K 190 1981–2017

Kids & family · Family-safe · Cozy

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

3K 27 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Comedy

SCTV Network

2K 39 1981–1983

Ninja Hattori

2K 694 1981–1987

Action · Animation · Comedy

Verano azul

1K 19 1981–1982

Comedy · Drama · Family

Wanna Bet?

1K 232 1981–2023

Comedy · Game-Show · Music

The Kenny Everett Television Show

1K 45 1981–1988

Comedy · Music

Löwenzahn

961 477 1981–present

Animation · Comedy · Family

Price iz radionice

902 6 1981–1982

Alice in Wonderland

870 3 1981–1981

Animation · Comedy · Family

A Fine Romance

847 26 1981–1984

Comedy · Romance

Dr. Slump

766 243 1981–1986

Animation · Comedy · Fantasy

Elvira's Movie Macabre

710 432 1981–1997

Comedy · Horror

Sorry!

611 42 1981–1988

Dash!! Kappei

576 65 1981–1982

Animation · Comedy · Sport

Never the Twain

525 67 1981–1991

Private Schulz

466 6 1981–1981

Comedy · Crime · Drama

Private Benjamin

441 39 1981–1983

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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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