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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 Crime TV Series of 1981

28 Crime series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Crime 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 5 Adult 0 Adventure 1 Animation 1 Biography 1 Comedy 2 Crime 28 Documentary 0 Drama 19 Family 0 Fantasy 0 Game-Show 0 History 1 Horror 0 Music 1 Musical 0 Mystery 8 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 2 Sci-Fi 0 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 3 War 0 Western 0

Decades

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

2020s 3878 2010s 3389 2000s 1316 1990s 639 1980s 375 1970s 303 1960s 201 1950s 98 1940s 7 1930s 1 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 267 2025 556 2024 572 2023 641 2022 682 2021 630 2020 530 2019 572 2018 489 2017 427 2016 361 2015 341 2014 305 2013 247 2012 236 2011 229 2010 182 2009 161 2008 165 2007 175 2006 141 2005 127 2004 113 2003 127 2002 106 2001 103 2000 98 1999 68 1998 77 1997 79 1996 71 1995 62 1994 69 1993 56 1992 66 1991 49 1990 42 1989 40 1988 47 1987 44 1986 39 1985 48 1984 35 1983 36 1982 19 1981 28 1980 39 1979 31 1978 31 1977 29 1976 34 1975 28 1974 40 1973 31 1972 35 1971 25 1970 19 1969 22 1968 21 1967 26 1966 24 1965 17 1964 21 1963 21 1962 9 1961 19 1960 21 1959 31 1958 12 1957 11 1956 8 1955 9 1954 8 1953 2 1952 7 1951 4 1950 6 1949 4 1947 1 1945 1 1940 1 1938 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 1 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 0 Cozy 0 Wholesome 0 Melancholic 0 Tense 1 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 0 Campy 0 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 0 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

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

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 3 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 2 School & campus 0 Love story 0 Friendship 1 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 1 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 1 Social commentary 0 Philosophical 0 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 0

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 1 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 1 Central duo 2 Strong female lead 1 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 1 Visually striking 0 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 1 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 1 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 0 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 0 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 0 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 1

Sort

28 series

Hill Street Blues

12K 144 1981–1987

Ensemble cast · Workplace · Gritty

Simon & Simon

7K 156 1981–1989

Episodic · Banter chemistry

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

7K 2 1981–1981

Detective mystery · Atmospheric

Cagney & Lacey

6K 126 1981–1988

Female perspective

Bergerac

3K 87 1981–1991

Crime · Drama · Mystery

A Case for Two

897 356 1981–2026

Crime · Thriller

Nero Wolfe

478 14 1981–1981

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Private Schulz

466 6 1981–1981

Comedy · Crime · Drama

Walking Tall

341 7 1981–1981

Action · Crime · Drama

The Gangster Chronicles

336 15 1981–1981

Biography · Crime · Drama

The Chinese Detective

155 14 1981–1982

De fabriek

120 13 1981–1982

Crime · Drama · Romance

Strike Force

113 20 1981–1982

Action · Crime · Drama

McClain's Law

104 15 1981–1982

Sindikat-2

81 6 1981–1981

Action · Crime · History

Pelle Parafins Bøljeband og automatspøkelsene

79 10 1981–present

Comedy · Crime · Music

Today's F.B.I.

77 19 1981–1982

Amerikietiska tragedija

55 4 1981–1981

Crime · Drama · Romance

Bellamy

50 26 1981–1981

La madrastra

44 75 1981–1981

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Shannon

39 9 1981–1982

Galaxy Cyclone Braiger

33 39 1981–1982

Action · Animation · Crime

Der Fuchs von Övelgönne

20 13 1981–present

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Saken Ruth Vang

20 3 1981–present

Crime · Mystery

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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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